Wishes, Hopes & Dreams
by mommanerd
Summary: The Scooby Gang picks up the pieces after Season 6
1. Prologue

Wishes, Hopes and Dreams Prologue  
  
The cave was dark, cool, and eerily silent. Crude drawings depicting various scenes of torture adorned the stone walls. The demon presence that resided there had retreated three days previously. The only current inhabitant lay in an unmoving heap on the floor. He appeared to be completely lifeless, with only an occasional hitch of his pale shoulders giving away his undead status. His face was filthy with dirt concentrated in the places where tears had streamed down his face. Remnants of large burns and bruises that had covered much of his body just a few days ago still remained, mostly healed.  
  
There was no healing for his gaping emotional wounds.  
  
So drained was he, mentally and physically, that he did not even attempt to look up as a shadow crossed in front of the cave entrance, blocking the small arch of sunlight there. He didn't care who approached. If death loomed, he would welcome the comfort it would provide his aching psyche.  
  
It took a moment for Cordelia's eyes to adjust to the dimness of the cave after walking in the bright African sunlight. It was so hot here. She missed LA, but knew that she had matters to attend to that took precedence over her personal comfort. Besides, she was actually looking forward to this particular assignment. The Powers had instructed her to go and assist a vampire with a soul. There was nothing she wanted to do more. She just didn't understand what she was doing here in Africa. How had he gotten here from LA anyway?  
  
As the dark contours and shapes of the cave came into sharper relief, she was able to pick out the shirtless and barefoot figure slumped on the floor. She moved closer and took in the shockingly white hair.  
  
"Spike?"  
  
"Uhhh." He groaned.  
  
"Spike, what are you doing here? I was sent here to help. I was hoping for Angel."  
  
Spike weakly flopped over onto his back, his eyes still closed. "Yeah." His voice was barely a whisper. "I get that a lot."  
  
"I was told to come to the vampire with a soul who was here. You have a soul?" She was incredulous. "What, they're just giving them away now?"  
  
Her chattering was making his head hurt, adding to the discomfort that plagued the rest of his body. "Not quite." He groaned, then pried his eyes open to look at her as he attempted to sit. "Why are you here?"  
  
"I work for The Powers That Be. I go where they send me."  
  
"And why did they send you here?" He was finally able to pull to a sitting position.  
  
"I have to wait until they tell me that. Be quiet."  
  
Spike shook his head "Like I'm the one jabbering on."  
  
"Shh! What?"  
  
"I didn't say."  
  
"Shh!" she waved her hand at him. "Tell me again." Cordelia was looking toward the ceiling, obviously addressing someone he couldn't see. "Him? Why?"  
  
There was another long pause while Cordelia listened to a voice Spike couldn't hear, then "All right. Come here."  
  
When Spike didn't move Cordelia sighed and spoke slowly. "Spike. Come here."  
  
"Oh, so you're talkin' to me now?"  
  
"I see that soul has done nothing for your attitude. You're still a big pain in the ass."  
  
He staggered to his feet and stood before her. "Yeah, that's right funny comin'."  
  
"Shh! Stand still." She placed her hands on his head. It was engulfed with a glowing blue light.  
  
"OW! What was that?"  
  
"That chip won't hurt you now."  
  
Spike backed away, angry. "I didn't come here for the bleedin' chip!"  
  
"No. You asked for a favor from The Powers. You can't be much help if you can't defend yourself. They want me to fix you."  
  
"Fix me"?!  
  
"Shh!" Cordelia was looking into the air again. "Are you sure?"  
  
"'Bout what?"  
  
"Shh! Stand still."  
  
Spike threw his head back in frustration and rolled his eyes, then stood straight as instructed by the former Sunnydale cheerleader. Some cracked sense of humor these bloody 'Powers' had. Cordelia took his hands in hers and laced their fingers together. Blue light exploded all around her and traveled to him, up his arms, over his shoulders and head, soon encompassing all of him. His mouth opened in a gasp as the light was absorbed into his skin.  
  
Cordelia dropped his hands and stepped away. "There. You're done." She looked up. "He's done."  
  
"What did you do to me?" His face showed his confusion.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Look, I just do what they tell me to. It really doesn't help to ask questions."  
  
"What do they want from me?"  
  
She sighed and shook her head at him. "Haven't you been listening?"  
  
"Great!" His hands dropped to slap his thighs. "I'm stuck here in a cave with Queen Rah-Rah going all glowy on me, and no one has a clue."  
  
"Well, that's gratitude for you!"  
  
"Now look here Missy."  
  
"Shh!"  
  
"Here we go again."  
  
"Shh! Oh no!" Cordelia turned to Spike, her features clouded with concern. "You're coming with me."  
  
"Can't." He motioned outside. "Daylight."  
  
"Have you always been this obstinate?"  
  
"Fine! I don't suppose you brought an ashtray?"  
  
She didn't answer him, but instead hurried outside. When he didn't follow she turned to him impatiently. He shrugged his shoulders as he realized he had been wishing for death anyway. He took a deep breath and stepped out into the light.  
  
Nothing happened. Spike's eyes were stunned as he looked at his sunlit skin, then at Cordelia. "What did you do to me?"  
  
"You're complaining?"  
  
Spike held out his arms, feeling the warmth on his bare flesh. "What am I?"  
  
She shook her head. "Like I know? I don't even know what I am." She held out her hand to him. "Come on. We've got to get you something to eat. You're going to need your strength for our next stop. I saw this thing on Survivor that the Africans do with cows."  
  
"Then where are we going?"  
  
"They're teleporting us to Angel. He's in trouble."  
  
"What do we have to do?"  
  
"First tell me how well you swim." 


	2. Chapter 1

Part One  
  
Buffy and Dawn walked in the front door of their house in the wee hours of the morning. They were tired, but exhilarated from a successful night of patrolling.  
  
"It was just so cool when we dusted those vamps back to back at the same instant. POOF! Double combustion!" Dawn was giddy. She loved slaying.  
  
Buffy smiled indulgently. Through Dawn she was rediscovering her own enjoyment for fighting evil in its various forms. "We did four tonight. Not bad." She wrinkled her nose. "Though that is quite a lot for the summer. It's usually slim pickings this time of year."  
  
"That cemetery has been busy all summer."  
  
"I know." Buffy acknowledged, instantly serious.  
  
Dawn noticed the mood change and patted her older sister on the shoulder. "Do you think it's because he's gone?"  
  
Buffy walked over to her weapons chest without answering and began dropping stakes into it. It always amazed Dawn how many tools of the trade she could conceal on her petite frame. Dawn counted six stakes and four bottles of holy water.  
  
"When did you start carrying the sizzle juice?"  
  
"When you started tagging along." Buffy turned to her sister. "If you get into trouble and I'm not close enough, I can fire off one of these to slow down the bumpy guys."  
  
"Oh." The girls exchanged a meaningful look. "Well, here." Dawn handed over her crossbow and a handful of arrows. Buffy placed them in the chest and closed the lid.  
  
"Buffy.?"  
  
"Let's go talk in the kitchen. I'm starving."  
  
"Me too." Dawn smiled and followed her.  
  
Twenty minutes later the girls had demolished the extra large pizza they had ordered earlier in the evening, and were halfway through a boxed cheese cake.  
  
"Dawn, you know." Buffy mumbled between swallows, "this is our last night of doing this together for a while."  
  
"Why?" The dreaded little sister whine had crept into her voice.  
  
"School is starting again in a week, and you can't keep your grades up and still go out on all night patrols with me."  
  
"How about mini-patrols?"  
  
Buffy considered this for a minute. "OK, but only if you get your homework done first."  
  
Dawn jumped down from her stool, happy. "Great!" Her mouth gaped in a huge yawn. "Well, I'm off to brush my teeth and hit the sack. Good night Buffy."  
  
"Night." Buffy smiled genuinely as Dawn left the kitchen. She took a few minutes to tidy up the remnants of their binge before moving back out to the living room. She was still too wired up to go to sleep, and there were some other things on her mind as well.  
  
The summer had been good for both of them. It was just the two girls in the house now and they had grown very close. They both missed Tara, and Willow too. Willow was spending time with the coven of witches in Devon, trying to put her life back together. She called often, but still had a long way to go in her recovery. Buffy had spent the summer teaching Dawn as much as she could about life and about slaying. The lessons often went hand in hand.  
  
Buffy moved restlessly about the room, absently wiping dust from a shelf here, straightening a curtain there, fiddling with things that were fine as they were. If Buffy were honest with herself, and she was making a concentrated effort to do just that, she had to admit that she missed Spike too. She had been busy enough through the season to not let her thoughts dwell on him too much, but Dawn had stirred them up with her comment earlier. And Dawn had been correct. Ever since Spike had left town the vampiric activity had increased, particularly in his cemetery where they had patrolled tonight.  
  
She slowly walked up the stairs and into her room, where she changed into her pajamas. They were blue satin with little yellow ducks. She always found comfort in her PJ's. She sat thoughtfully on the edge of her bed before moving to her closet to open the door. She reached in to touch the sleeve of the long black coat hanging at the far end. She rubbed the worn leather between her fingers and inhaled the scent of stale tobacco smoke. She didn't know where he had gone, or if he would ever return. She wasn't even sure if she ever wanted to see him again.  
  
The last time she had ventured inside his crypt, she had found it stripped of all his belongings. Clem had moved out and had no information except to say that he had received a letter from LA with no return address telling him to box up the personal items for storage and to discard the rest. She was torn between relief that she didn't have to deal with him and what he had done to her, and disappointment that he had left her like every other man in her life.  
  
With a sigh she pushed the coat back into place and closed the door, then turned off her light and went to bed.  
  
TBC... 


	3. Chapter 2

Part 2  
  
Clem was sitting at the outdoor demon café reading the comic section of the Sunnydale Herald and munching on nachos. An unexpected hand touched his shoulder and he started violently, knocking his chips and cheese all over the table. He stood and spun around to confront his attacker. His snarl was replaced with a fangy grin as he recognized his old friend.  
  
"Spike! When did you get back into town?" He reached out to pat the vampire on the shoulder.  
  
Spike was carrying a large box, which he sat on the ground. "Last night." He spun a chair around and straddled it as he sat down, folding his arms across the wrought iron back. He looked around. "This place new?"  
  
"Pretty new." Clem nodded, his ears flopping with the motion. "Food's better than Willy's."  
  
Clem glanced around again, then scratched his head. "Hey! Isn't it daytime?"  
  
Spike rolled his eyes upward, then glanced a little to the right and a little to the left. "Yep."  
  
"How come you're not." He flicked his clawed hands open. ".Poof?"  
  
Spike smirked, and then reached out to snag a cheese covered chip off the table. "I seem to be immune." He popped the chip into his mouth and crunched noisily. "They got any tobasco sauce?"  
  
"I think so." Clem motioned for a waitress. She had tentacles. "So, Spike, tell me what you've been up to."  
  
Spike grimaced. "First of all, just make it William." He nodded to the waitress. "Another order of these please, and a bottle of the hot stuff." She shuffled off and he turned back to Clem.  
  
"Spent most of the summer in LA, adjusting to my new. self."  
  
"You went to that African shaman I told you about?" William nodded. "What did he do?"  
  
"Ran me through a bunch of tests, nearly ended me, then gave me what I wanted."  
  
"Wow! I thought he only dealt in resurrections and souls."  
  
"That's right."  
  
"Then what's with the.?" Clem waved his hand around, indicating the daylight.  
  
"Not sure about that one mate. While the gifts were being handed out, it seems I merited a few extras." He glanced up at the waitress as she brought his order and took the five he handed her. She slithered away again. "I haven't seen a Scyllian around here in years." he noted to Clem.  
  
"There seem to be a lot of new demons popping up lately. And you know, lots more vampires around since you left."  
  
"It's why I'm back."  
  
"I thought maybe you and the Slayer."  
  
"No." William cut him off. "I'm here to help her, but I won't be muckin' up her life."  
  
"What are you going to do?"  
  
"Got me a new job. He leaned over to open the box, then reached in and pulled out a small black mask. "Gonna earn a livin' by day and fight the good fight by night." He raised his brows and nodded.  
  
Clem just flapped his ears again. "The things we do for women! Hey, I like what you've done with your hair." 


	4. Chapter 3

Part 3  
  
Dawn and her friend Janice walked up the steps outside the Sunnydale high school. They were studying nearly identical pieces of paper. "So you have Math first on Tuesday, then English right after lunch with me today? Cool!" Dawn was relieved to know her best friend was in at least 2 classes with her.  
  
"Have you heard anything about the new teachers?" Janice wanted to know.  
  
"The science teacher is a real dweeb. Kristin saw him setting up the lab. No telling where they found him. I heard the PE teacher is from Sacramento. Nothing yet on the new English teacher."  
  
"I heard he's a dreamboat." The girls turned to find Chelsea West standing behind them. Chelsea flipped her streaked blond hair over her shoulder, then pulled out a mirror to check her lipstick. "I wonder how long this new batch will last?"  
  
Sunnydale went through an inordinate number of teachers each year. Last year had been no exception. "Don't know." Dawn shrugged her shoulders. "Why are you talking to us anyway? Aren't we a little under your league?"  
  
Chelsea snapped her mirror shut and favored Dawn with a pseudo-smile. "Nobody else around. Might as well talk to you."  
  
"Thanks ever so." Janice sneered out before turning to walk away.  
  
"Catch you later." Dawn waved, then hurried to catch up with her friend. "Hey, that was pretty rude."  
  
Janice shook her head. "I've been on the wrong side of her vicious streak too many times to play nice." She was interrupted by the school bell. "Time to go. I'll see you at lunch."  
  
Dawn waved goodbye and walked to her homeroom.  
  
***** Dawn and Janice walked into English class, more interested in the two boys in front of them than in their upcoming class. So far the day had gone pretty smoothly for Dawn, and the girls were sharing stories of whom said what to who, and what were they thinking when they wore that anyway? Everything was normal. Janice sat at a desk by the window, with Dawn taking the seat in front of her. She checked around to see who else was in the class, and to take note of the drama masks mounted on the wall. She returned her attention to Janice to get her opinions.  
  
The student chatter muted considerably as the teacher entered the room and walked to the board. Dawn turned to the front as she heard the squeak from the dry erase marker slide across the glossy white surface as the teacher wrote his name on the board with his left hand. Dawn looked curiously at him. He was slight with sandy blond hair, wearing a pale blue shirt and khaki slacks. She turned to whisper to Janice that he had a cute butt, but froze in place when she heard familiar British tones. "Welcome to Sophomore English."  
  
Dawn's shocked gaze was riveted to him as he turned to face the room. Her ears hadn't deceived her. Spike was standing at the front facing the class. His accent was more clipped and proper than what he normally spoke with. "I'm Mr. Browning." He continued. "I'm your new teacher."  
  
*****  
  
"Buffy, I'm not kidding you!"  
  
Dawn was sitting across from the table from Buffy in the meeting room of the Doublemeat Palace. Buffy shook her head, sure that her sister was trying to pull a fast one. "So help me God, Dawn, if you made this up so that I'd let you get away with cutting classes on the first day of school, I'll drop you in the grinder."  
  
"I'm not making it up. Spike is my new English teacher."  
  
Now there was a phrase Buffy thought she would never hear. She shook her head again, this time to clear her ears. "How could he be Dawn? He's a vampire for pity's sake! And vampires do not teach English."  
  
"I don't know Buffy. All I know is that it was him. He was standing there in my class sounding all British and proper, but he was wearing, like, normal clothes. And I'd swear he has a tan."  
  
"What would Spike know about teaching English?"  
  
"Quite a bit, actually! You should have seen him. He started reading Shakespeare and I thought Missy Matthews was going to have kittens. She actually moaned!"  
  
"Oh my god."  
  
"I tried to get up there and talk to him at the end of class, but he was swarmed. Once the crowd thinned out he was gone. I ran all over the school looking for him but I couldn't find anything. The new principal was no help either. He said that us pesky girls had been in there all day asking him about Mr. Browning and he was tired of it." Dawn folded her arms and sulked.  
  
"Dawn," Buffy leaned forward and touched her sister's forearms. "You must understand why I'm having a little bit of trouble accepting this."  
  
"I know Buffy, but you've got to believe me. It's him."  
  
The Slayer sounded grim. "Then it looks like I'm going to have a talk with your new teacher." 


	5. Chapter 4

Part 4  
  
The next morning the Sunnydale High hall monitor was amazed to see Dawn Summers arrive an hour early for school. This was something that had never happened before. She was accompanied by her older sister, who was also never known for her punctuality. The stout matron stepped in front of the two girls to block their entry. "Where do you two think you're going?"  
  
Buffy raised her chin in the air. "I need to speak with the principal about... about Dawn ducking out of her last class yesterday." Buffy lied through her teeth.  
  
"Try again." the monitor was unimpressed. She'd seen everything in her twenty-three years of patrolling school halls. This slip of a girl was not getting past her. "You can wait outside until he arrives, then we'll see if you have an appointment."  
  
Buffy knew when to retreat. "Come on Dawn." She led the younger girl back outside. "I never could put one over on Mad Martha back when she stalked the halls of the old high school. We will just go on to plan B."  
  
"You're going to sneak in through the gymnasium window?"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Can I come along?"  
  
"NO! I want you in your classes where you're supposed to be." She waved her forefinger under Dawn's nose. "No more cutting."  
  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
  
She gave Dawn a hug. "I'll let you know what I find out."  
  
"'Kay."  
  
Buffy jogged around to the back of the building, grabbed a rock and selected her target. Smash! Slayer aim was a wondrous thing. She backed up a few steps, then ran and jumped up onto the ledge under the row of windows. She reached into the fist-sized hole and unhooked the latch, then opened the window and slipped in, pausing to re-latch it behind her.  
  
She was startled to hear an alarm. The old school building never had an alarm! Quickly she looked for a place to hide.  
  
The gymnasium doors burst open and two security guards ran in looking frantically around. The searched all around the empty room then stopped by the broken window.  
  
"Just some punk breaking glass again." Guard number one told his partner. "We'll have maintenance clean this up and cover the hole." He tossed the rock in the air and caught it again in his palm. "I'll just add this to our collection."  
  
The men left. A ceiling tile was lifted and Buffy swung out to grab the rope suspended from a bar a few feet down. She slid down to the floor, wiped her palms on the sides of her jeans, then ran silently to the doors and slipped into the hall.  
  
She had spent most of the previous evening and night looking for Spike. She had gone by his crypt. There had been no sign of him, but she had put quite a scare into the three vamps who had moved in. Of course, she had dusted them before checking around for clues to his whereabouts. Ultimately, she had found nothing.  
  
It seemed that none of the vampires or demons she had encountered had seen him. Clem was nowhere to be found either. Now she was stuck with sneaking into the school and camping out in his classroom until he decided to show. Naturally, when she reached the room, the door was locked. "Looks like more destruction of school property for the former juvenile delinquent." Buffy muttered to herself, before wrenching the knob sharply to the right and tearing it out of the metal door. "Hmm." She held it up and admired it. "Pretty." She let herself into the room.  
  
*****  
  
Fifteen minutes later William paused beside his vandalized classroom door. Buffy. He would have known she was here even without the evidence of her breaking and entering. He could smell her, and still feel her as well. He would have been surprised if she hadn't shown up. He knew he had avoided seeing her for as long as he could. Steeling himself, he pushed open the door and walked in.  
  
She was sitting on the edge of his desk, her arms and ankles tightly crossed. She wasn't smiling.  
  
"Hello, Buffy." He glanced at her, then away.  
  
"Spike." She noted his cringe, subtle though it was. "I think you owe me an explanation."  
  
His voice was low. "I think I owe you more than that."  
  
"Why did you leave?"  
  
He paused. He didn't look at her. "You know why."  
  
He opened his briefcase and began to unpack his supplies.  
  
"Why did you come back?"  
  
"I came back..." He took a deep breath. "I came back because I had to."  
  
She hopped down and turned to look at him, her hands flat on the desk. "I don't understand. I don't understand anything!"  
  
"Makes two of us."  
  
"Spike!" His half answers were making her angry. His jaw clenched again. She stood upright. "What is it?"  
  
"Just... call me William. Please."  
  
She moved rapidly around the desk and grabbed his arm. "Look at me. Tell me what this is all about."  
  
He did as she ordered. She was dismayed at the emotion she saw in his eyes. There was sorrow and shame and... dignity.  
  
"What happened to you?" She whispered.  
  
"I needed to make a change Buffy, so I did."  
  
"What kind of a change?" She backed away a step, then glanced around the room, noting the way it was filled with sunlight. "Tell me why you're here at this school, and how you can walk around in the daylight, and why you're... different."  
  
A bell rang loudly in the hall. Hundreds of feet could be heard squeaking on the linoleum of the floor.  
  
"Later." He said, then turned to look away from her again. "I'll tell you about it later."  
  
"When?"  
  
"After school." He lifted his eyes upward and shook his head uncertainly. "Four o'clock."  
  
"Fine. Come to the Magic Box." She turned and walked out. 


	6. Chapter 5

Part 5  
  
The work on restoring the Magic Box had progressed steadily all summer. Anya was preparing for the Grand Re-opening next month. The spirit inside was upbeat as Buffy entered the remodeled shop. Giles had stayed in Sunnydale to help everyone recover from the disasters caused by Black Willow - and was presently opening cartons of new merchandise that Anya was placing on shelves and tables. The smell of sawdust and fresh wood permeated the little store with a cheery sense of renewal. Buffy's dark mood was further highlighted by the contrast.  
  
"Buffy." Giles straightened from his task. He put his hands on the back of his waist and grimaced. "I hadn't expected you yet. Weren't you scheduled to work today?"  
  
"Something came up." She looked around distractedly. "Where's Xander?"  
  
"He's in the back." Anya motioned over her shoulder with her thumb. "He's putting built-in shelves to camouflage the Willow shaped hole."  
  
"Oh." Buffy's gaze turned inquiringly to Giles.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Can we. talk? I mean I need you get your input on something and it's sort of." she glanced at Anya, ".personal."  
  
Anya's eyes brightened and she looked from Buffy to Giles and back to Buffy again. "I can keep working with the herbs back here, with the pretense of not listening."  
  
Giles turned his head to her with a soft grin. "That's very thoughtful of you. However, I believe we can retire to the upper level and save you the effort."  
  
Anya shrugged, then returned to her shelf stocking and labeling.  
  
"Would this have anything to do with the increased demonic activity of late?" Giles inquired as he and Buffy ascended the new staircase.  
  
"No. It has nothing to do with demons, not the new demons anyway. I mean, I'm not sure why there are so many new demons, and we probably do need to talk about that, but this is an old demon."  
  
Xander turned on the table saw in the back room. The scream of the blade against wood filled the small store.  
  
Giles leaned forward "What are you getting at Buffy?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Giles raised his voice to be heard over the loud mechanical whirring. "I don't understand you."  
  
"I can't hear you either!" Buffy yelled back.  
  
"Not 'hear'" Giles clarified. "Understand. What are you talking about?"  
  
Buffy lowered her voice and leaned in to Giles' ear "I'm talking about Spike."  
  
Giles shook his head. "The town is on strike?" He yelled back.  
  
"Yes!" Buffy nodded. "He's back in town."  
  
"I don't understand Buffy! You're going to have to speak up."  
  
"Spike is back in town!" Buffy yelled, just as the noise downstairs stopped.  
  
There was a loud 'clang' from the back room. "OW!" Xander screamed, and let loose with a very creative string of words.  
  
"Do you think he's swearing because of the news about Spike, or because of the sledge hammer he just dropped on his foot?" Anya called up to them.  
  
"Both!" Xander squeaked as he limped into the shop. "God that hurts!" he whimpered as he lowered himself into a chair.  
  
Buffy ran back down the stairs followed by Giles. She grabbed another chair for Xander's foot. "Anya, do you have any ice?"  
  
Anya shrugged her shoulders. "No." She said, then went back to what she had been doing.  
  
"Buffy," Xander gasped. "Please tell me you didn't say."  
  
"I'll second that." Giles chimed in.  
  
"Look," Buffy pulled up another chair. "I didn't want a big scene. Let's just all calm down."  
  
"Of course, because we all should be warm and fuzzy about the return of the guy who tried to rape you." Xander spat out.  
  
"Xander.!"  
  
"Fine, fine." He threw his hands up. "So where is Mr. Soon To Be Dust? Were you out for another daytime visit to his crypt again?"  
  
"Where did you leave that sledgehammer?" Buffy asked sweetly.  
  
"It's on the floor by the very noisy wood cutting machine. I can get it for you." Anya offered helpfully.  
  
"That's quite all right, Anya." Giles assured her. "We can discuss this like adults." He looked from Buffy to Xander. "Can't we?"  
  
Buffy crossed her arms as Xander nodded reluctantly.  
  
Giles removed his glasses and wiped them. "Now Buffy, you've stated that Spike's returned. What are the circumstances?"  
  
"I'm not sure when and how he came back." She answered Giles, but her eyes were on Xander. "But he is different."  
  
"Fine." Xander spat out. "I guess we can give him carte blanche back into our little gang then."  
  
"Xander will you just shut up and let me talk?" She smacked his leg, jarring his foot.  
  
"Owwww!"  
  
"Sorry."  
  
Giles was rubbing his forehead. "Children, please." He turned to Xander. "Buffy wished to discuss this privately with me, and I can understand why. If you want to be included I suggest you stop whatever bellyaching it is you intend to keep doing or I will be forced to leave you alone here with Anya."  
  
Both Xander and Anya scowled at the thought. "Fine." Xander finally agreed. "You won't even know I'm here. Do you mind if I take off my shoe?"  
  
"If you must." Giles spared him an irritated glance then moved a few steps away. He took a deep breath. "Now Buffy, please continue."  
  
"Spike is back." Buffy paused, then looked at Giles to gauge his reaction. "He's the new Sunnydale High English teacher."  
  
Giles stared at her. He blinked once, twice, three times. "Perhaps my ears are still ringing. I thought you said..."  
  
"English teacher?" Xander asked.  
  
"Yes." Giles turned to him. "So you heard it too?"  
  
"Listen to me!" Buffy pled. "Dawn told me and I couldn't believe it either. I was at the school this morning. It's true." Seeing the skepticism on both faces she continued. "We talked. It's Spike, except it's not."  
  
"That certainly clarifies things!" Anya called over.  
  
"Please." Buffy's teeth were beginning to ache. "Giles, listen. He doesn't want to be called Spike. He insisted on William. And when I looked at him... really looked at him, it was like..." She shook her head.  
  
"Nausea?" Xander offered, peeling off his sock.  
  
Buffy favored him with another patented Slayer glare before turning to look at Giles again. "It was like... Angel."  
  
Giles took a deep breath, then shook his head. "I'm trying to understand Buffy, really, but if what you are saying is true, Spike would have to be able to move around freely in the day time. The Gem of Amara has been destroyed. It simply isn't possible."  
  
"Right then." They all froze at his voice, then turned to the doorway. "I can't be standin' here without smolderin' like a charcoal briquette, and you Watcher..." He strolled in and inclined his head toward Giles, "still do a bloody poor job of watching your own back."  
  
Buffy and Giles turned to look at him, Xander struggled to get up, and Anya walked around from behind the counter. They took in the changes in him, from his hair to his clothes to his newly acquired suntan.  
  
"Well, I'm... I'm quite speechless." Giles admitted after a long pause.  
  
"And Spike," Anya interjected. "Where did you get the soul?" 


	7. Chapter 6

Part 6  
  
"He has a soul?" Dawn was incredulous. "Spike has a freaking soul?"  
  
"Seems so." Buffy distractedly dodged a tombstone.  
  
"How?"  
  
Buffy inhaled deeply through her nose and looked up at the starry night sky. "He went to a shaman in Africa and went through some sort of mystical test. The short story is that he passed and won a soul."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
The girls walked side by side in silence.  
  
"And he can walk around in the daytime?"  
  
Buffy nodded.  
  
"So is he human?"  
  
Buffy stopped and sank down on a concrete bench. "No. He's still a vampire, just with a few added bells and whistles."  
  
"Has he been in Africa all this time?" Dawn sat beside her.  
  
"No." Buffy stared thoughtfully at her feet. "He was in Los Angeles. With Angel."  
  
"No way! They, like, totally hate each other."  
  
"Angel was in trouble. The Powers who gave Spi. William his soul needed his help. I guess Angel wasn't so eager to dust him after he saved his life." She glanced over at Dawn. "They helped each other out."  
  
Dawn laughed. "I just can't see the two of them together all summer. "Do you think they fought over the hair gel?"  
  
Buffy smiled in spite of herself. "Probably that, and a million other things."  
  
Dawn, encouraged, continued. "Like the food. Angel gets so grossed out, and Spike eats like a pig."  
  
"Not to mention all the gunk he likes to mix into his blood."  
  
"Oh!" Dawn squealed. "Can you imagine Angel grabbing the wrong glass and taking a big swig? Wheetabix and Burba weed cocktails!"  
  
"Gross!" The girls said at the same time, laughing.  
  
They were so caught up in their conversation that they hadn't noticed the heavy footfalls of the three approaching demons. Dawn and Buffy were grabbed from behind and hauled off the bench before they knew what was happening. Buffy struggled, but the demon's arms were too strong. She glanced around to see what she was dealing with. It was a Fyarl. This was bad. She continued to thrash in its grasp, trying to find room to wiggle free.  
  
Dawn was in the same predicament, only without the super strength. She kicked her long legs, making contact with the demon's knees, but to no avail. The third demon approached Dawn from the front, his mouth opening as he made a gurgling sound. She screamed.  
  
Startled, the demon holding her loosened his grip and stumbled backward. He growled in surprise. Free, Dawn kicked the demon facing her between the legs. He fell to the ground and a stream of foul smelling mucous covered her feet. She rolled to find her crossbow. "Buffy!" she yelled.  
  
"Dawn, run!" Buffy ordered her.  
  
Dawn found that she couldn't move. The mucous had hardened into a shell, binding her feet together. She continued to roll on the ground to evade the Fyarl following her and managed to get a bolt into her bow. She was grabbed again from behind and this time a big, scaly, clawed hand was clapped over her mouth. She flailed about in earnest, but could not break free. As the third demon again approached her, she heard a dull thud and the demon stopped, wavered, and fell to the ground. There was an axe buried deep in his spine.  
  
William rushed over to pull his weapon free. He spun around "Buffy, duck!"  
  
She lowered her head, and the axe flew through the air, decapitating the demon that held her. She was free. The third demon dropped Dawn and lumbered away, not anxious to face two super-powered beings on its own. Buffy spared a quick glance at her ally. "Check on Dawn!" She ordered, before gathering up the crossbow and giving chase.  
  
William bent to help Dawn free her feet from her ruined tennis shoes. He checked her over from head to foot to ensure that she wasn't injured. They were standing as Buffy returned, the crossbow dangling at her side.  
  
"Blasted arrows bounced right off him."  
  
"Only silver works on them pet, remember?"  
  
They exchanged a look before Buffy glanced uncomfortably away.  
  
"Sorry." He mumbled. ".Habit."  
  
She nodded and turned to Dawn. "Are you OK?"  
  
"Yeah. What were those things?"  
  
"Fyarl Demons." William offered.  
  
"Do you think somebody sent them?" Buffy's mind searched for whom might have organized an attack on them.  
  
"Had to be." He answered. "They don't have the sense to plan something like this on their own. If they were hungry they could have picked easier targets than the Slayer and her little sis."  
  
"That's what I was thinking." She watched as he moved to retrieve his axe.  
  
"Hey, is that."  
  
"Yep. Silver plated blade." He looked at it admiringly. "You never know when that can come in handy."  
  
"I'll have to get one of these." She took it from him and felt the weight in her hands. "It's nice."  
  
"You can use mine whenever you like."  
  
There was another uncomfortable silence.  
  
"Hey, you guys?" Dawn interrupted. "Do you think we ought to go tell Giles about what happened?"  
  
Buffy looked up at her gratefully. "Yes, we should. But first, you need to go home."  
  
"Buffy!" She stamped her stockinged foot.  
  
"School tomorrow. No arguments."  
  
"OK." Dawn reluctantly agreed. "But you're going to have to get me some new shoes. I am so not going to wear those."  
  
***** The Fyarl Demon thundered through the cemetery and down the embankment toward the river. He lurched along the bank, staying close to the dense foliage. He finally stopped at a large oak tree, bumping around it ungainly until he reached a concealed cavern opening. His large body barely fit through the hole, and he fell to the dirt below with a hard thud. It was pitch black around him.  
  
"You failed." The voice of his master reached to him out of the darkness.  
  
"Strong. Fast." The demon muttered in his guttural language.  
  
"Where are the others?"  
  
"Dead." He grunted.  
  
"How did two little girls armed with wood defeat three of you?" The voice was light and calm.  
  
The Fyarl growled. "Man come. Demon man."  
  
"Ah. So the vampire has returned." The voice had a happy tone. "This will make things easier. All three are here now. It makes up for your failure this evening."  
  
"Hungry. Want food."  
  
"Very well, my friend. I have a tasty morsel for you tied up in the back. Eat her quickly if you please. I don't want her screams to alert the Slayer to our location." 


	8. Chapter 7

Part 7  
  
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter - to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . and one fine morning - So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."  
  
The bell rang, signaling the end of the class session. William closed the book in his hand and straightened from where he was leaning against the front of his desk. "You can read this last chapter through on your own tonight. Tomorrow I want a two page paper on the significance of the green light, how it applied to Gatsby, and what it means to you."  
  
The students noisily gathered up their notebooks and made their way to the door. Buffy scooted out of the way to let most of them pass. A few, all female, remained clustered around the desk.  
  
"Mr. Browning!" Missy was talking over the other girls. "I still don't understand why he wasted so much time mooning over the woman who didn't even care enough to go to his funeral. She wasn't even worthy of him."  
  
"Miss Matthews, you have to remember that he was in fact a criminal. His charm and connections didn't change that. Daisy stood to lose everything if she chose to be with him."  
  
He was interrupted to field a few more questions before he put a stop to it by glancing up at Buffy and clearing his throat. "If you young ladies will excuse me, I seem to have a visitor. Come in Miss Summers, please."  
  
The girls left reluctantly, with the exception of Dawn. "Hey Buffy. What's up?"  
  
"Just here for a little conference with your teacher." Buffy kept her tone light.  
  
"I haven't cut a class in two weeks!"  
  
"I know." Buffy patted Dawn's arm. "There's no problem, just something I wanted to ask him about."  
  
Dawn studied her sister suspiciously. "I've got to go anyway. Math." Dawn made a face and left the room, but turned to study the two adults before walking down the hall.  
  
Buffy made sure Dawn was gone before turning to William. "Good classes today?"  
  
"What's the problem?" He began clearing his desk.  
  
"Who said there's a problem?"  
  
"Oh right, you're here because you really care that my classes go well."  
  
She gave him a little smile. "Well, I have to admit it's pretty interesting seeing you work... in a surreal kind of way. You sound kind of like Giles."  
  
He nodded then turned to erase the board.  
  
"So how come you know how to teach?"  
  
"Because I'm a teacher."  
  
"Again with the half answers!" Exasperation was entering her voice. "Come on. I know you're pretending to be a teacher, but how do you know what to do?"  
  
He dropped the eraser onto its tray and turned to face her. "I wasn't always a monster, you know. Before I was turned I did have a life."  
  
"Oh." She bit her lip. "So when you were human...?"  
  
"I was a teacher at a boy's school in London. I specialized in literature and composition."  
  
"You were a writer?"  
  
"Of sorts." He walked away to straighten some desks. "Now, you going to tell me why you're here?"  
  
Buffy sighed and crossed her arms. "Just trying to make with the small talk here." He turned and arched a brow at her. "Fine. Giles was wondering if you were going to stop by the shop tonight. Since I had a few hours before my shift I volunteered to come over here and ask. Good enough?"  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"I'm not sure. He was muttering about portents and strange disappearances, like that never happens in Sunnydale."  
  
William nodded seriously and looked away from her.  
  
"What is it?" She was mystified by his dark mood.  
  
"It's just... these kids." He gestured to the empty desks. "I've had three disappear since the beginning of school."  
  
"That's nothing different on the Hellmouth. When I was in tenth grade..."  
  
"It is different!" He cut her off angrily. "These are my students. These are kids with lives and futures. Everybody in this bloody town pretends like it's nothing when one day they're gone." He sat heavily in his chair. "I was responsible for some of the missing kids when you were in school. They were food to me. Nothing more, and sometimes less." He looked up at her, hoping to make her understand. "Sometimes I killed them just because they were in the way."  
  
"I know." She said softly.  
  
He looked down at his hands. "I reveled in it." He shook his head. "There was one yesterday." He pointed to a desk in the second row. "She sat over there. Sweet kid. Wrote an essay about how she wanted to be a stewardess because she thought flying all the time for free would be fun. Her parents came in today to clear out her locker." He looked up at Buffy and tilted his head. "How many parents do you suppose I sent to this school to clean out a locker?"  
  
She had no answer for him. The silence hung between them for a long time.  
  
Finally he picked up his case. "Well then," he sighed. "This is getting us nowhere. Let's say we go off to the Magic Box, then see if we can't bugger up the next apocalypse."  
  
Buffy nodded her agreement, and they walked out the door. 


	9. Chapter 8

Part 8  
  
"Anya, please do stop hovering!" Giles was elbow deep in reference books at the study table. Anya had been poking around for the last half-hour, sometimes flipping through a book and other times rubbing at some imaginary dust. Currently she was perched behind the Watcher, reading over his shoulder.  
  
"Am I bothering you?"  
  
Giles removed his glasses and leaned back in his chair. He rubbed his face with both hands. "This is very difficult." He sighed. "I'm looking for obscure references relating to calendar dates and astronomical alignments." He closed his book with another sigh. "And I'm not finding anything."  
  
"Well you know." Anya moved to sit beside him. "It's hardly unusual for us to have demons and strange disturbances around here. The last time we had to save the world it was just Willow having a bad skin day."  
  
"Anya. Haven't you heard anything through the, er, demon pipeline?"  
  
She shook her head. "No, but they're unhappy with me. I'm under my quota." She laced her fingers together and sat them on the table. "Actually, I've only granted one wish all summer, and that one didn't go well."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"Well, every time a girl starts in about how mad she is because her boyfriend did something awful, I kind of." Anya paused and looked around, embarrassed. "I kind of start talking about myself. and Xander. then the whole wedding disaster comes up." She broke off and looked up at Giles. "Finally, this girl wished that I would just shut up."  
  
Giles tried to choke back his laughter. "I can't honestly say I haven't had the same desire from time to time!" At her hurt look, he stifled his chuckles. "So tell me, did you curse yourself?"  
  
"I had to!" Giles burst out laughing this time. Anya continued, "Then I teleported to D'Hoffryn, because he's the only one who could undo the curse. Normally," she clarified "I could undo my own, but since it was on me it got a bit. sticky."  
  
"How did you.?"  
  
"Actually I couldn't tell him since, you know, I couldn't talk. I tried pointing at my mouth and stamping my feet. I even tried drawing it, but he didn't understand."  
  
"But."  
  
"It turns out that he knew what had happened all along. We're monitored you know, like e-mail at work. He was just messing with me."  
  
After Giles finished laughing, he replaced his glasses and leaned toward her. "Anya, in all seriousness, have you considered giving up your. calling?"  
  
A sad look crossed her face. "I can't." She shook her head slowly. "Only D'Hoffryn can break the contract once I've accepted his offer."  
  
"Have you asked him to let you out?" She looked at him and silently nodded her head. "I see."  
  
The bell on the door rang, announcing the arrival of Buffy and William. Anya rose uncomfortably and retreated to the sanctuary of her counter. Giles glanced at her quizzically before turning his attention to the others. He stood. "William, I'm glad you could make it."  
  
Since the vampire's return the two men had developed a very friendly relationship. They often played chess and engaged in philosophical conversations that Buffy had difficulty following. Who knew that Spike was smart? He had certainly done his best to conceal it with his bluster and bravado and big bad persona. His new soul seemed to counteract his need to misrepresent himself. The changes in him were fascinating, and Buffy kept discovering new aspects of his personality. Giles and William were in deep discussion already. Buffy was shaken from her musings when she heard Giles mention patrolling.  
  
"Who's patrolling?"  
  
"I've asked William here to check out the area by the river tonight. It seems that quite a few of the, um, the bodies have surfaced there. It's certainly suspicious."  
  
"Well I can patrol!"  
  
William fixed her with a gaze. "Didn't you say you had a shift tonight?"  
  
She waved off the thought. "I'll just call in."  
  
"Buffy," Giles interjected. "I really don't think you need to change your plans."  
  
"Nonsense. If there is patrolling to do, I'm your girl. Besides, we only come across a possible apocalypse, what, maybe once or twice a year. I'm in." She strode over to the phone and punched in the number for the Doublemeat Palace.  
  
William turned to Giles. "Tell me again about some of these portents. I'm only aware of the increased demon activity."  
  
"Just recently there have been a few reports of." Giles removed his glasses and lowered his voice. "A dragon, of some sort."  
  
"WHAT?" Buffy yelled.  
  
"Or perhaps a Pterodactyl." He turned in her direction.  
  
"You can't fire me! All I did was call in sick."  
  
Giles blushed and replaced his glasses. "I see Buffy was addressing a separate issue."  
  
"A dragon you say?" William furrowed his brow. "I can't say I've ever encountered one. Have you checked with Anya?"  
  
"Not yet. We talked today, but got a little. sidetracked."  
  
Buffy slammed down the phone.  
  
"Hey!" Anya objected.  
  
Buffy ignored her and strode unhappily over to Giles. "They fired me!"  
  
"So I gathered"  
  
"They said I called in sick too much."  
  
"Two to three times per week could be construed as excessive."  
  
"How do they know that I'm not really sick? I mean, do you think they routinely fire sick people? There should be a law about that!"  
  
"Buffy." William interrupted her tirade. "You aren't sick."  
  
"They don't know that." She turned to Giles. "So, tell me what you've got."  
  
"As I was saying, there have been a few reports of a large flying creature, possibly a dragon."  
  
"There are no such things as dragons." Anya called from the counter. She stepped from behind it and joined the group. "Dragons were made up in fairy tales. Now, there are a number of demons that have similarities. There's the Ghora."  
  
"Bloody hell." William grimaced.  
  
"You've had experience with a Ghora?" Giles inquired.  
  
"Nasty things. Three heads. Lots of sharp teeth. Had one take a nip out of my side."  
  
"When was this?" Buffy wanted to know.  
  
William shook off the question. "Nothing to be concerned about. Was just helping a friend."  
  
"It wouldn't be a Ghora." Anya continued. "They don't fly. Besides I think the last one died out about four-hundred years ago."  
  
"Well the one that took a taste of me was doing a nice impression of being alive."  
  
Buffy turned to William. "I say we go out and search around. Standing around talking about what it might be isn't going to get us far." She looked at Giles. "Keep checking the books and I'll let you know if we find anything. Oh, and will you call Dawn and let her know what's going on. She has some homework to do that should keep her busy."  
  
"Fine." Giles nodded, already seating himself.  
  
With that, Buffy and William picked up their weapons and left the shop. 


	10. Chapter 9

Part 9  
  
The moon was full and bright as the two slender blondes made their way along the riverbank. The water lapped a short distance away from their feet, filling the companionable silence as their eyes perused the darkness. His were much better at picking out shapes and movement in the dimness, but her intuition was more highly attuned to possible attacks. In the few weeks since his return, they had fallen comfortably back into patrolling together. It was the only time they were at ease with one another.  
  
"You getting anything?" She asked him.  
  
He shook his head. "No. You?"  
  
"Nada." She stopped walking and looked at the sky. "Full moon. It's possible we could encounter a werewolf."  
  
"You know," he cocked his head to the side. "I haven't seen one of those around here for at least two years."  
  
"Me neither, now that you mention it." She walked over to the edge of the water. He followed.  
  
"William?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Your soul, when you got it...?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Did it... hurt?" She rushed to qualify her question. "I mean, when Angel got his, before I stabbed him, he bent over and seemed to be in pain."  
  
His jaw clenched as he looked out across the stream. "It burned like a hundred suns."  
  
"Oh." She picked up a rock and skipped it across the surface of the water. She couldn't see the splashes, but she heard its plop plop plop.  
  
"Go ahead and ask me Buffy."  
  
She put her hands in her pockets and glanced up at him. "Why did you do it?"  
  
He grinned ruefully and uttered a dry chuckle. "For you pet. I wanted you to have what you deserved."  
  
"What I deserved?"  
  
"You didn't deserve to have a monster sniffing around your pants all the time, forcing himself on you, now did you?" He shook his head and dropped down to sit on the ground. She followed. "Funny thing is that I never really sussed out exactly what it would do to me."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"After what happened at your house I could finally see myself the way you saw me. Soulless, violent, no better than an animal." He glanced sideways at her. "I really thought I would never hurt you - that I could control myself." He looked down again. "Now I know that all I ever did was hurt you."  
  
She shifted uncomfortably. "That worked both ways." She said softly.  
  
"Yeah. But it doesn't matter." He caught her inquisitive look. "This new thing inside of me, it has made me see what I really am. No matter what I do, I am still a beast, an abomination. You have been chosen for a higher calling. There is no room in that for a creature of darkness. I will never forgive myself for trying to pull you into that darkness."  
  
Buffy searched for a way to respond to his honesty, but was distracted by a suction-cup-covered tentacle that had reached out of the water and wrapped itself around her leg. "William!"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Knife!"  
  
Before either of them could react, another tentacle wrapped around Buffy's other leg and yanked her into the river. She disappeared beneath the rolling water. William, with knife firmly in hand, dove in. His night vision served him well in the murky darkness. The beast holding Buffy looked like a huge eel with a dozen or so long tentacles protruding along both sides of its slimy body. He swam toward its head and wrapped his arm partway around it. He attempted to stab the knife into where he guessed its brain would be, but it thrashed the vampire with its tail, stunning him. He dropped the knife and it sank to the bottom.  
  
For her part, Buffy was kicking and punching as best she could, but the water slowed her and dulled the impact of her blows. William knew that she only had a few minutes before she ran out of air. In desperation he used the only weapon he had available. His face grew hard and ridged as his long, sharp fangs emerged. He sank them deeply into the flesh behind the head of the monster and tore deeply into the tough oily flesh. The water was filled with slick, blue blood. Finally the thing went limp and rolled over. Buffy was free. She weakly kicked her feet. William grasped her under her arms and swam for the surface. They crawled up to collapse on the riverbank. Buffy choked up mouthfuls of foul, blue water. Finally she flopped over on her back and inhaled the fresh, clean air.  
  
"What was that thing?" Buffy finally gasped.  
  
William spat out a stream of bitter tasting demon slime. "Hell if I know!"  
  
Buffy dissolved into peals of laughter.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You should see yourself!" She giggled. "You look like a skinny Smurf."  
  
He joined in with her laughter. "I have to admit pet, you have a bit of the Mystique going for you as well."  
  
"Ah!" She held up her arms. "I'm blue too!"  
  
"If that wasn't the nastiest piece of piss I've ever bitten into..."  
  
They lay side by side, laughing in the moonlight. Finally, laughter spent, she glanced over at him, admiring the new tint in his hair. "I suppose my hair is as blue as yours. Do you think this stuff will wash out?"  
  
He leaned up on his elbow and reached out to lift the strands that lay across her forehead. He rubbed them between his fingers, his brows drawing together in thought. "It's hard to tell love, I suppose we'd better try to find out." He glanced down at her to find her eyes looking up into his.  
  
Their smiles faded. She reached a tentative hand out to him, as if to touch his hair. He sat up abruptly, then stood. "Well then, why don't I drop you off at your house?" He reached down. She nodded and allowed him to pull her upright, then broke the contact. They silently headed back toward town. 


	11. Chapter 10

Part 10  
  
Dawn and Janice sat at the dining room table with books and papers spread around them. Janice was typing on Willow's computer while Dawn read from her book and jotted down notes. Janice was becoming a fixture at the Summers' house in the early evenings. Dawn appreciated the company while she waited for Buffy to get off work. Giles had called earlier to tell her that Buffy had gone out patrolling tonight. Dawn was hoping to finish her paper early, then maybe she could go out and slay with her sister after dinner. The doorbell interrupted the girls.  
  
Janice looked up from the keyboard. "Were you expecting anyone?"  
  
"No." Dawn looked surprised. "We really don't get a lot of visitors." She made her way to the front door. Chelsea West was standing on the front porch, looking around at the house and yard. "Chelsea? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Hi Dawn." Chelsea put on her best yearbook smile face. "Are you busy?"  
  
"Just homework." Dawn moved out of the way to let the girl in.  
  
"Quaint!" Chelsea commented as she looked around. "Oh, hello Janice."  
  
Janice scowled. "Oh give me a break. What are you doing here? Some boy kick you out of his car on the wrong side of town?"  
  
"Charming, as always." Chelsea replied with a smug sneer.  
  
Dawn rushed to intervene. "Um, Chelsea, I appreciate your stopping by, but did you need something?"  
  
"No." She walked into the dining room and picked a chair - the one Dawn had been sitting in.  
  
Dawn sat across the table and reached over to gather up her book and report notes. "We were just working on our English papers."  
  
"Oh English!" Chelsea smiled, more genuinely this time. "It's becoming my favorite subject. As a matter of fact, I was hoping you'd bring that up."  
  
"English?" Dawn was mystified.  
  
Chelsea leaned across the table. "No. I was hoping we could talk about a certain English teacher."  
  
"Oh cripes!" Janice leaned back and fixed the girl with a nasty stare. "What is the deal with you? We don't know anything about Mr. Browning, and I don't care to feed your stupid crush."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Chelsea looked toward Dawn coyly. "Then why was he looking so cozy with Dawn's sister at school today? And why did they leave together?"  
  
Dawn grappled for an explanation. "They just... they just had a meeting about... about me and how I'm doing so much better in school this year. Yeah! I'm getting good grades and Buffy's happy and she wanted to tell Mr. Browning that. And he's really a gentleman, you know. He... he probably offered to walk her to her car."  
  
"I didn't think your sister drove." Chelsea was cool, her eyes speculative.  
  
"What are you getting at?" Janice just wanted the girl to go.  
  
"I'm thinking Dawn has an inside edge with the new teacher. Maybe that's why her grades are so much better."  
  
"Hey!" Now Dawn was getting mad. "I'm working hard this year. Mr. Browning isn't giving me a free ride!"  
  
"Then why don't you just spill what you know about him? All the girls in school are wondering where he came from and where he lives. It seems like you must know something. At least your sister does."  
  
"Oh, I get it." Janice stood up "You're going to pump Dawn for information, then go into school like you have the inside scoop. You're trying to use her to get more popular. Why don't you just go back to that rock you crawled out from under? Dawn's my best friend. If she knew something about him, she would have told me. There is no way her sister is dating him."  
  
All three girls turned as they heard laughing voices approach the front door. Dawn's mouth dropped open as a blue-tinged Buffy walked into the house, closely followed by her similarly hued English teacher.  
  
"Now, isn't this interesting?" Chelsea commented.  
  
"Dawn!" Buffy's eyes widened. "I see you have company."  
  
"Buffy, what's going on?"  
  
"Oh, this." Buffy looked down at herself. "There is a perfectly logical explanation. We were, um..." She looked at William. "We were playing paintball."  
  
"On Wednesday night?" Chelsea walked forward to get a better look. "Those must have been some big paintballs."  
  
"Huge." Buffy verified. "Do I know you?"  
  
"This is Chelsea West, from school." Dawn looked pointedly at the girl. "She was just leaving. Weren't you Chelsea?"  
  
"No way!"  
  
"Miss West." William nodded cordially.  
  
"Are you two dating?" She asked bluntly.  
  
"Us?" Buffy's eyes widened. "No! No dating going on. You can play paintball with someone without dating."  
  
"Along with a bunch of other things, apparently." Dawn muttered. Buffy glared at her. William smiled.  
  
"Did you hit him in the mouth?" Chelsea asked Buffy.  
  
"When?"  
  
The girl looked confused. "Tonight, duh!" She pointed at him. "His teeth are blue."  
  
Buffy looked at William. Panic was beginning to show in her eyes.  
  
"Yes." He stated calmly. "As a matter of fact one of her shots went high and she did indeed get me in the mouth." He nodded. "You know, her aim is quite bad." He turned to Buffy. "You see Miss Summers, it will be quite impossible for you to help coach the, um, archery team this year. But you just keep working on your aim there, and we'll see about next year."  
  
Buffy's face was red beneath the blue goop, and she was starting to sputter.  
  
"Hey Buff." Dawn walked over to her and grabbed her arm. "Why don't we get you upstairs and see if we can get this stuff cleaned off." She pulled her toward the steps and turned to the other to girls. "I'm sure you two can let yourselves out. I'll call you later Janice."  
  
"And I'll be on my way too." William called up after the girls. "Don't forget to do your paper Dawn."  
  
"I won't!"  
  
*****  
  
Buffy drained the water from the tub, finally clean. It had taken two showers and one long bath, along with three ruined wash cloths, to get rid of all the monster blood. "Hey Dawn, bring me the Soft Scrub." Buffy indicated the blue ring that had formed around the inside of the tub.  
  
"How about Mom's polka-dot dress?" Dawn asked brightly? Buffy looked at her quizzically. "Sorry, just a lame attempt at some Dr. Suess humor. Willow would have gotten it." Dawn left to get the cleanser.  
  
After the tub had been scrubbed and the myriad of wet towels put in the washing machine, Buffy and Dawn retired to the kitchen for some hot chocolate. Dawn stirred hers slowly, looking unhappy.  
  
"What is it?" Buffy wanted to know.  
  
Dawn sighed and laid her spoon down. "I called Janice while you were in the tub. She's mad. She thinks I've been keeping stuff from her." Dawn took a sip from her mug. "I know that I have, but just because I have to. It's hard to have friends and a secret life."  
  
"Tell me about it!"  
  
"Buffy, can't I please tell her? You told Xander and Willow, and she would be totally cool with it. Remember, she had a date with a vampire last year too, and she saw Giles kick its butt."  
  
"I'll think about it."  
  
"Tell me what happened tonight."  
  
Buffy related the events of the evening, from Giles' information to the attack of the giant eel-squid. Dawn's eyes were huge and round. "Wow Buffy, you would have died if you'd gone out alone or just with me."  
  
Buffy nodded thoughtfully. "You know, it's nice - patrolling with him again. We've always fought well together, even in the very beginning against Angelus." She smiled wistfully at Dawn. "I guess I've come to rely on him to watch my back. That's why it hurt so much when he..." She broke off and looked down into her empty mug.  
  
Dawn looked concerned. "Do you think he will ever do anything like that again? Do you think you can trust him?"  
  
"He's changed so much... I don't want to think that he would ever try to force anything again. As a matter of fact..." She trailed off and shook her head.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, tonight, after the eely thing, he could have..." She glanced up to gauge Dawn's reaction. "But he didn't."  
  
"You would have let him?"  
  
"I think so." Buffy stood and took her mug to the sink and ran water into it to melt the marshmallow stuck to the sides. "Maybe not. I think I would have been pretty squicked afterward."  
  
"You sure sounded like you were having fun when you came home."  
  
"Yeah." Buffy smiled. "We were." 


	12. Chapter 11

Part 11  
  
Xander was not in a good mood.  
  
He'd had a hard week at the construction site, working long hours, shorthanded. Now he was at the Magic Box on the weekend donating his time to help Anya and Giles get the shop ready, and it seemed that everyone was conspiring against him to make his job as difficult as they could.  
  
Anya followed him around compulsively, pointing out edges that needed more sanding and nails that weren't exactly flush. To make matters worse, when she was not pointing out his shortcomings as a carpenter, she was fawning over Giles as he looked for clues about the demons and monsters that had been surfacing around Sunnydale. Since when had the two of them developed such a friendly working relationship? The last time he checked they had been playing tug of war over a Ramadan effigy, with Anya anxious for the older man to leave. Now she acted like she was about to melt every time he removed his glasses. Xander was certain that she was just doing this to spite him, but it rankled all the same.  
  
Then there was Spike. Xander refused to join in with the others and call him William. Who did he think he was fooling anyway? The vampire was just angling for another way to get into Buffy's pants. Xander would stake him before he'd ever let him touch Buffy again. That didn't appear to be much of a threat anyway. Spike was more interested in schmoozing up to Giles than in hitting on either Buffy or Anya. So far the two adversaries had managed to avoid each other, with Xander retreating to the back room or the loft whenever Spike came into the shop. Right now the creep was sitting with the Watcher describing the water monster that had attacked Buffy and him earlier that week. Xander was curious, in spite of his hatred of Spike. He wandered closer to the table.  
  
"No, I didn't really get a good look at the head, just the body and those leg things."  
  
"And how long do you estimate it to have been?" Giles reached for a thick volume.  
  
"Over twice my length. Whacked me on the head with its tail."  
  
"Hmm. So we're talking about a creature at least twelve feet long."  
  
"I'd guess twenty, rough and dirty. And I couldn't reach all the way around it."  
  
"Leviathan." Anya blurted.  
  
"Anya," Giles began in his pedantic tone. "A Leviathan was reputed to be a large fish or squid. Also, it was a mythical creature that dwelt in the sea."  
  
"I've seen one. They are large, ugly, eely things with long tentacles. This one sounds like it was on the small side, fortunately." She pulled up a chair beside Giles and searched for a particular book. She flipped through the pages, finally stopping on one. "There. See?" She moved the book in front of Giles. "People are confused over whether it is a fish or a squid, because it has traits of both. They're not mythical, just extinct."  
  
Giles slid the book over to William. "Is this the creature?"  
  
William shuddered. "Nasty bit of news, that one. Tasted like week-old chocolate milk gone bad."  
  
Giles turned to Anya. "This is the second time you've identified a creature that has been considered extinct. Do you have a theory?"  
  
Xander snorted. "You're asking her?"  
  
"Xander, I have been around for over a thousand years. I've seen a great many things."  
  
"Yeah." Xander remarked rudely. "We all know about some of the things you've seen." He glared at William.  
  
"That's enough." William stood.  
  
"What'cha gonna do Willy? Gonna try and hit me and give yourself a migraine? Oh, that's right. You won't hit me because you're all souled and remorseful now. You wouldn't chance hurting a poor wittle human."  
  
"Xander, please." Giles tried to interrupt.  
  
"Care to test me?"  
  
"What's going on here?" Buffy was standing in the doorway. The tension between the two men was palpable. They looked like they were about to pounce on each other. William's jaw was clenched and Xander had curled his hands into fists.  
  
"I don't see why we need him around." Xander didn't take his eyes off the shorter man. "All he does is screw up everything he touches."  
  
William sneered. "Seems to me I'm not the only one around here screwin' things up. Tell me again why we need you, you small-minded carpenter boy."  
  
"Please... stop." Giles sputtered.  
  
Buffy marched over to stand between them. "What is this all about?"  
  
"Spikey here felt the need to defend Anya from her big, mean ex-boyfriend."  
  
"That's ex-fiancée." Anya clarified.  
  
"And I'm tired of everybody around here buying his big 'I'm redeemed' act and forgetting what he put us all through."  
  
"I haven't forgotten anything." Buffy stated. "But he still deserves a chance."  
  
"I've told you before Buffy, I don't need you to defend me." William's voice was cold.  
  
She turned to him angrily. "Do I have to pop you in the nose again to make you two stop this macho posturing? Weird stuff is going down and we all need to be able to work together. We can't keep getting sidetracked while the two of you decide who has the biggest stones!"  
  
Anya raised her hand. "I can tell you."  
  
Everybody stopped arguing and turned to look at her in shocked disbelief. Giles removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. Xander stormed away and began to earnestly pound on something in the back room. Buffy and William shuffled uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact.  
  
Giles cleared his throat and motioned to the reference book. "It would seem that we have found your river monster, Buffy."  
  
She walked around the table and studied the drawing. "Yes. I think that's it. What was that doing in Sunnydale?"  
  
"I can't believe that the appearances of these monsters are unrelated." Giles frowned in concentration. "The Leviathan, the dragon, and the Ghora that William referred to."  
  
"That was over a year and a half ago." William noted.  
  
"Perhaps you could share the circumstances with us."  
  
William looked uneasy. "I was when I helped Dawn with the resurrection spell."  
  
"I still can't believe you had a hand in that." Buffy looked at him dubiously. "You hate magic!"  
  
He gazed at Buffy "I had to help out the Li'l Bit."  
  
"Tell me more about this spell." Giles prodded him.  
  
"Well you see, we went to this guy, Doc, who I heard was a specialist in those kinds of spells. He told us we needed a Ghora egg, then told us where we could find one."  
  
"So he knew the whereabouts of a creature known to be extinct? And you didn't think that odd?"  
  
William shrugged his shoulders. "I'd heard of them, and I knew they were rare, but how would I know they weren't supposed to be around here? This is the Hellmouth, old man."  
  
Anya pulled up the chair next to Giles. "Giles isn't old." She turned to smile at him adoringly. "He's just mature."  
  
"Yes, well." Giles cleared his throat. "Back to your story. Tell me about this 'Doc'. Was he a warlock of sorts?"  
  
"That's what I thought when I first heard about him, but after meeting him I knew he wasn't human. He had this whole reptile thing going."  
  
"That's right." Buffy recalled. "You and Xander went to him for help later and he attacked you with his tongue. Then you thought you killed him."  
  
"Yes." William nodded. "Except then he showed up to bleed Dawn on the tower. He hit me with the tongue, then he stabbed me in the back and threw me over."  
  
Giles inclined his head. "Yes, I had forgotten some of the other details of that night. I was otherwise... occupied."  
  
"He was a Time Wizard." Anya stated.  
  
Again, everyone stopped to look at her. "They're kind of like Vengeance Demons. They have some magical powers, but can only use them at the request of others." She smiled at the others who were staring at her in amazement.  
  
"Anya, you never said anything about that before." Buffy noted.  
  
"Well," she raised her eyebrows. "Nobody told me about the tongue thing. I guess Xander was too busy with his faux proposal to tell me anything relevant."  
  
"I heard that!" Xander yelled from the back room.  
  
"I know." Anya yelled back.  
  
"But you said 'Time Wizard'?" Giles questioned.  
  
"Yes. They can teleport through time, like I can teleport through space. They are very rare."  
  
"Can they teleport anything with them?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Not that I'm aware of." Anya answered. "I can't teleport another person, unless it is a specific part of their vengeance wish. That's why D'Hoffryn has to personally go claim his recruits. We don't have the ability to bring anyone to him."  
  
William turned to Buffy. "So you're thinking..."  
  
"That this guy has gone back in time and brought some creatures back with him." Buffy looked to Giles. "But why, and how?"  
  
Xander was standing in the doorway. "But wait Buffy. I thought you threw him off the tower and killed him."  
  
"And the two of you thought you had killed him in his shop." She looked around at all the others "Did anybody see his body later?"  
  
They all shook their heads silently. "Buff." Xander stated quietly. "We were a little more focused on you, and your... body."  
  
"That's ancient history guys. Don't let it get in our way now." Buffy was all business. "We know that Doc was working with Glory." Buffy's mind was thinking through the possibilities. "Why would he conjure up a Ghora demon with eggs to help you and Dawn?"  
  
"I have a theory about that." Giles speculated. "What if he was just looking for a reason to have contact with The Key? Perhaps to verify that she existed? Did he touch Dawn in any way?"  
  
"Pulled out a strand of her hair."  
  
"But Giles," Buffy objected. "Glory didn't know that Dawn was The Key then."  
  
"He could have time-traveled." Anya pointed out. "Glory thought Dawn was the key, then sent him back to make sure. And she could have given him the power-boost he needed to transport the Ghora."  
  
"That makes sense, in a strange sort of way." Giles commented. "But with Glory gone, I don't know what he could be up to now."  
  
"Or," Anya added. "How he found the power to bring these creatures here."  
  
Buffy looked at the others soberly. "That's what we have to find out." 


	13. Chapter 12

Part 12  
  
Dawn walked through the cafeteria holding her lunch tray, and moved to sit at a small table across from Janice.  
  
"Hey Dawn, over here!" Chelsea was waving to her.  
  
Dawn shook her head. "No thanks!" and motioned to her friend.  
  
"She can come over too! Missy was just leaving." Chelsea nudged Missy, who dropped her jaw in consternation. Chelsea leaned over to whisper to her, "At least move your butt over. We can get the goods from Dawn."  
  
Dawn and Janice reluctantly rose and joined Chelsea and Missy. There were two other girls already sitting there who looked extremely interested in Dawn.  
  
"So!" Missy squeaked. "Chelsea said she was at your house and that your sister was on a date with Mr. Browning." The girl's eyes had a rabid glow.  
  
"No." Dawn shook her head. "It wasn't a date. Buffy just lost her job and they were discussing a new, um, job possibility."  
  
"Right!" Chelsea uttered a dry laugh. "Sunnydale doesn't even have an archery team. That was so lame! Besides, "She nodded sagely. "He called you Dawn."  
  
"What?" Dawn's eyes widened.  
  
"Don't forget your homework Dawn." Chelsea mimicked in a bad English accent.  
  
"Oh, that." Dawn fumbled for an explanation. "Well, OK then. He's just an old family friend that we knew from. from Los Angeles. And Buffy didn't want anyone to think I was getting special favors."  
  
"Then why didn't she just tell us that instead of making up that stupid paintball story?"  
  
Dawn squirmed uncomfortably. "I. I don't know."  
  
"Look." Janice pointed at the doorway. "There they are now."  
  
Dawn looked over to find Buffy and William in deep conversation just outside the cafeteria. She glanced uncertainly at her classmates then rose and made her way over to the two adults. "What are you two doing?" She hissed.  
  
"And I'm glad to see you too!" Buffy was taken aback.  
  
"Buffy!" Dawn whined. "How am I supposed to act like I don't know him and that you two aren't involved if you keep showing up together?" She looked from Buffy to William, then back to Buffy again. "Everybody is driving me nuts asking questions about you two, so I lie to them so nobody thinks anything goofy is going on, then you do stuff like this, and everybody knows I'm lying, then they really think something is up. Give me a break!"  
  
"I'm sorry Dawn." Buffy looked at her apologetically. "I was just in the neighborhood looking for job possibilities. I heard that Pasta Shack had openings. Anyway, I had a thought about this Doc business and thought I'd discuss it with William."  
  
"Well thanks for waiting for a less conspicuous time and place to discuss the freaky lizard demon guy. What if someone overheard you?"  
  
"You're lecturing me now?"  
  
William interrupted. "Perhaps it would be best if we moved this inside and out of the hallway." He gestured into the cafeteria.  
  
"And I guess it's time for me to do a little damage control." Buffy sighed. "Come on Dawn. Let's go save some face." The three walked back to the table of girls, who hadn't taken their eyes from them.  
  
"Hi." Buffy began. "I guess you guys have been wondering why I've been hanging around the school, huh?"  
  
The girls looked at one another and giggled.  
  
"Well," She continued. "I really wasn't talking to Mr. Browning about coaching, or about Dawn's grades."  
  
Chelsea leaned back and crossed her arms, smirking. Missy just stared at William with an adoring glow.  
  
Buffy wrung her hands nervously then motioned toward William. "It's just that, he's an old, um. Well he's sort of." She looked to him for help, her eyes pleading with him to come up with a plausible explanation.  
  
He raised and eyebrow at her. "Continue Miss Summers. You're doing well."  
  
She was tempted to stomp on his foot, but instead forced a smile back onto her face. She put her hand through the crook of his arm and turned to the girls. "He's my boyfriend." She looked at him with a spiteful gleam in her eyes. "Aren't you, dear?" She gritted out between clenched teeth.  
  
"Yeah, right!" He tried not to laugh.  
  
"What?" Dawn exclaimed.  
  
"I knew it!" Chelsea was ecstatic.  
  
"Oh." Missy looked ready to swoon.  
  
The other three girls at the table were owl-eyed. They couldn't believe they were in on the Sunnydale High story of the year.  
  
Buffy patted his arm. Hard. "Well, sugar plum and I have some personal things we need to discuss, so we'll be going now."  
  
William nodded his head, "Ladies." Then allowed Buffy to drag him from the room. "Well that was just bloody brilliant!" He stated once they were out of sight and pulled his arm away. "That's certain to squelch all the gossip."  
  
"At least Dawn doesn't have to make up any more lies."  
  
"No, she can just keep talking about your little fabrication!"  
  
"I didn't see you coming up with anything helpful."  
  
"You're the only woman I know that calls someone a boyfriend once she stops sleeping with him."  
  
"Do you think you could say that a little bit louder? There are probably about two or three-hundred students that didn't hear that."  
  
"So now you're ashamed that you're not shagging me?"  
  
"No. I'm ashamed that I didn't stake you five years ago."  
  
"Believe me sweetheart, putting up with your idea of a relationship makes staking look like a walk on the bloody beach."  
  
"Well that's not your problem any more, is it?"  
  
"Apparently it is now, thanks to your little revelation in there."  
  
"Look, I don't know what else to say. Just. deal."  
  
"Easy for you to say. You don't have to spend the next hour trying to teach American Literature to a bunch of horny adolescents."  
  
"Well." Buffy grasped for a way to put a good spin on the situation. "Maybe they'll back off now that they know you're taken." She looked at her watch. "Hey, I've gotta go. I have a job interview in ten minutes." She started down the call, then called back to him. "I'll meet you after school Honey. We'll take care of that little Doctor problem then, OK?" She stopped and blew him a kiss.  
  
He would have gladly throttled her.  
  
***** Two and a half hours later Buffy, Dawn and William were standing outside a dark little shop in an alley.  
  
"This is where it was." William glanced up and checked the address again. "Looks deserted now."  
  
"Ugh." Dawn shivered. "This place gives me the creeps."  
  
Buffy stepped into the alley and scanned it up and down. "I don't see anything. We'd better look inside." She nodded to William. He reached into the pocket of his slacks and brought out a lock pick.  
  
"You can still do that?" Dawn questioned.  
  
"Being souled doesn't make a fellow forget about a hundred and twenty odd years of petty larceny." He muttered as he worked the lock.  
  
"Doesn't make him any faster either." Buffy observed.  
  
He turned the knob, then stood and held the door open for the two girls. "I get the job done."  
  
"Eventually." Buffy brushed passed him. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim interior of the shop. It was mostly deserted, except for some stray papers and a few old books. She stepped down from the small landing, closely followed by Dawn and William. "So this is where you dragged my little sister to in the middle of the night?"  
  
William didn't answer her, but walked to the adjoining room to see if there were any signs of the Time Wizard remaining there. Except for dust, the place was clean. "Anything out there?" He called over his shoulder.  
  
"No. Nothing." Buffy continued to glance around, but knew they wouldn't be picking up any leads there today.  
  
"Where to next?" Dawn asked.  
  
"There's a new demon hangout in town." William told them. "I'll go ask around there."  
  
"Oh Buffy, can I go. please?" Dawn begged her sister. "A new demon place! It's probably pretty cool."  
  
"OK." Buffy agreed.  
  
William opened the door. "After you, ladies."  
  
***** Dawn looked around in wonder as the three approached the strange bistro. "You know," she said to Buffy, "I've been by this place dozens of times. How come I never noticed it was a demon hangout?"  
  
Buffy glanced over at her and smiled. "Just the way things work in Sunnydale."  
  
"There he is." William gestured toward his loose skinned friend.  
  
Dawn trotted over. "Hey Clem!"  
  
Clem jumped, knocking the small round table over and spilling his drink. "Whoa there!" He yelled, then turned to see who had called him. "Dawn! Hey."  
  
"Hi Clem." Buffy waved.  
  
"Slayer." He nodded his head, then looked over at William. "Hey are you two back together?"  
  
"No!" The both answered.  
  
"Oh yeah. I see." Clem scratched his head. "Well here." He bent down to set the table up. "Have a seat everyone." He was short a chair, so he walked over to a table occupied by two Chaos demons, and with a fangy growl, borrowed a chair from them and gave it to William. "So, what brings you here today?"  
  
Buffy leaned over to speak to him in a low tone. "We're looking for some information. Have you heard any talk lately about a Time Wizard being in town?"  
  
"Oh, you mean Doc." Clem nodded.  
  
"You know him?" William asked.  
  
"Hey, you know me. I get around." Clem shrugged his shoulders modestly.  
  
"What can you tell us about him?" Buffy wanted to know.  
  
"He comes and goes." Clem related. "Sometimes I do some odd jobs for him, just to earn a few bucks. Hey!" He pointed at William. "Remember those cute demon eggs I asked you to hold for me about six months ago?" Clem chuckled. "Of course you remember. You had that freak explosion that wiped out your downstairs."  
  
Buffy looked up, startled.  
  
"Yeah." William nodded. "You mean the harmless little Suvolte eggs?"  
  
"No." Clem shook his head. "They weren't Suvolte. Those things are dangerous. You've got to keep them frozen."  
  
"Found that out the hard way." William muttered.  
  
Buffy glanced down.  
  
"Hey!" Clem was apologetic. "Doc's always seemed like such a decent sort. I had no idea he was dealing in the Suvolte trade. You shoulda told me."  
  
"Had other things on my mind after that. Have you seen him around lately?"  
  
"Oh, let's see." Clem inclined his head and scratched his ear. "I saw him a three or four weeks ago." He pointed at William. "The same day you came back."  
  
"Where?" William questioned him.  
  
"Right here." Clem motioned over his shoulder with his thumb. "When you left he came over and sat down."  
  
"You talked to him?" Dawn blurted out.  
  
"Sure. I talk to everybody."  
  
Buffy shook her head. "What did you discuss."  
  
"Lots of things. Hmm. Let me see." Clem drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "There was the menu. He's a picky eater and wanted to know where the horseflies were imported from." Clem nodded. "Then the weather." Clem laughed. "Demons always want to talk about the weather."  
  
Buffy tapped her foot impatiently. They were close to information, and she wanted some answers. "Anything else."  
  
"Oh yeah! We talked about him." He motioned to William.  
  
"What about me?"  
  
"He asked me who my friend was." At the alarmed look on William's face, Clem rushed to reassure him. "Don't worry. I didn't tell him anything." Clem shook his head, sending his ears flopping. "I told him you were just a friend from out of town here for a short visit. I even made up a name for you." Clem smiled proudly. "I told him your name was Rocko." 


	14. Chapter 13

Part 13  
  
Giles leaned an elbow against the new staircase railing and rubbed the back of his neck. "So, you've been able to verify that Doc has been around the Hellmouth during the last several months, and that he's probably been tracking your movements."  
  
"We know Doc's been watching him." Buffy motioned toward the table where William and Dawn were looking for information on Time Wizards. "We also think that he might have been trying to kill us with the Suvolte eggs."  
  
"How so?" Giles straightened to listen intently.  
  
"He told Clem that the eggs were harmless and just needed a quiet dark place to sit for a few days. He was even the one who suggested that an old crypt might be an ideal spot. Clem knew Spike was looking for some extra cash." Buffy glanced around, uncomfortable about looking Giles in the eye. "If we had been down there unarmed when those things hatched out."  
  
"I see." Giles cleared his throat. "Well then, did you feel like the Fyarl demons were attempting to kill you?"  
  
"No." Buffy rejected the idea. "They were able to get the drop on us and could have killed Dawn and me pretty easily. I'm thinking more along the lines of a kidnapping."  
  
"So Doc has gone from wanting you dead to needing you for some unknown purpose?"  
  
Buffy nodded. "Maybe he wanted us dead for revenge, or. or to just get us out of the way."  
  
Giles rubbed his chin. "Now, for whatever reason, he's decided that he needs you alive." He shook his head "I just don't know. There's something we're not seeing here." Giles pursed his lips as he thought deeply for a moment. "I'm going to make some calls that might prove enlightening."  
  
"And we'll keep trying to get a bead on this guy." Buffy tuned to look at the other two again. "My main concern right now is Dawn and keeping her safe. Doc is the one who bled her that night. I won't let him harm her again."  
  
***** Several hours later, after supper had been eaten and Dawn had showered and gone to bed, Buffy and William stepped out onto the back porch to discuss the situation quietly. Buffy sank down on the top step and wrapped her arms around herself, even though it was a warm evening. "I'll kill him before I ever let him near Dawn again."  
  
"You'll have to wait in line, love." William sat down and patted his pockets, finally locating a nearly empty pack of cigarettes."  
  
"I haven't seen you smoke since you came back."  
  
"I've cut down." He lit up and dropped his lighter back into his pocket. "Don't want to make a bad impression on the kiddies." He looked up at the sky, and blew a trail of smoke up into the air. "Figured I could use a bit of the old vice tonight."  
  
"About earlier," Buffy began tentatively. "What Clem said."  
  
"Forget it Buffy." There was a faint growl in his voice.  
  
"But, when we found those eggs. I didn't even give you a chance to explain."  
  
He exhaled another trail of smoke and looked away from her. "Doesn't matter."  
  
"Of course it matters."  
  
"No." His voice was calm and deliberate. "It doesn't. You were right. I was evil and it was a stupid scheme. I don't know if it would have made any difference if I'd have known what was in the eggs."  
  
She leaned forward and draped her arms around her knees, interlacing her fingers. "It makes a difference to me." She said in a small voice.  
  
"Well then," He stood and ground out the cigarette with his boot heel. "I'd best be off and let you get some sleep."  
  
She stood and slid her hands into her front pockets. "Good night. You try to get some rest too."  
  
He paused in the moonlight, a faraway look in his eyes. "Good night, good rest. Ah, neither be my share."  
  
"That's nice." She tilted her head. "Is there more?"  
  
He twisted his lips into a wry smirk. "I don't think you'd much care for it."  
  
"Go on." She urged him.  
  
He closed his eyes, then continued: "She bade good night that kept my rest away; And daff'd me to a cabin hang'd with care, To descant on the doubts of my decay. 'Farewell,' quoth she, 'and come again tomorrow.' Fare well I could not, for I supp'd with sorrow."  
  
He paused and opened his eyes to gauge her reaction. Her expression was thoughtful. "Finish it."  
  
"Yet at my parting sweetly did she smile, In scorn or friendship, nill I construe whether. 'T may be, she joy'd to jest at my exile, 'T may be, again to make me wander thither. 'Wander,' a word for shadows like myself, As take the pain, but cannot pluck the pelf."  
  
"I didn't know you knew poetry. What was that?"  
  
"Shakespeare." He shifted uncomfortably, then turned to leave. "Well, good night then."  
  
"William, I don't hate you."  
  
"Perhaps you should."  
  
Before Buffy could say another word the backyard was inexplicably filled with vampires. Most were newly risen from the smell of them. Buffy and William immediately moved so that they were standing back to back, their muscles poised for action, their eyes and ears on full alert.  
  
"Well well, what have we here?" William drawled out in a sardonic tone that was belied by the tension Buffy could feel in his body. "Looks like we have some minions who stumbled into the wrong place."  
  
The vamps moved in, closing in a tight circle around the two. Buffy counted eight. There were too many in close proximity for her to tell if more were hidden in the bushes. None of them spoke, except for growls of hunger and rage.  
  
"Four for me and four for you." She said lightly.  
  
"That's about the size of it."  
  
"Good odds, I'd say."  
  
Lightning swift they both sprang into action. Buffy grabbed the stake concealed in the back of her waistband and dusted two before they realized she was armed. William grabbed the head of one nearest to him and twisted viciously. He didn't wait for it to dissolve into dust before kicking another in the stomach and knocking it into a third. Buffy leapt into the air, spinning and catching a vamp in the head. It fell to the ground and she landed on top of it, staking it in a quick, smooth thrust. William grasped the arm of the fourth attacker and spun him around. Buffy stood ready and killed it, then tossed her stake to William, who finished off the two struggling to their feet. Buffy smiled at the remaining vampire, which had just realized his undead afterlife was nearly over.  
  
"Something tells me you should have slept in tonight!" She quipped, before hurtling herself at the demon, bloodying its mouth and nose with vicious punches and smashing her knee into its groin. As it bent over, clutching its stomach she reached her hand up in the air and caught the stake, then slammed it home into the creature's back. She tucked her weapon back into her pants.  
  
"Wow!" she turned to her partner, brushing her hands on her jeans to remove the fine particles of dust. "That was."  
  
Their eyes met. He recognized the glow he saw in hers. He stepped back in retreat.  
  
She took two steps forward, not breaking their eye contact.  
  
"Buffy, you don't want to do this."  
  
"Shut up." She launched herself onto him, knocking him onto his back. Her mouth found his and her fingers twined through his hair.  
  
"Mmpf. Buffy. Please..." His protest was interrupted by her greedy kisses. Her hands crept down his shirt and back up underneath it. He was able to twist his head free. "Love, you're going to regret this..."  
  
"No." And she was on him again, ripping his shirt open. He managed to gain a little leverage and flipped her over onto her back. When he attempted to stand she grabbed the sides of his torn shirt and pulled him back down on top of her. "William," she moaned.  
  
At the sound of his name, he sank into her kiss, returning its fervor for a moment, before a measure of sanity returned and he pulled himself slightly away. "Buffy, think about this. You don't really want to... You'll hate yourself and me in the morning."  
  
"No! No I won't." She denied feverishly, and reached for him once again. "Please..." Her voice was raw.  
  
Suddenly his body was ripped away and flying through the air to land on the porch steps.  
  
"What?" She sat up in a daze and looked into the furious face of Angel. "What are you doing?"  
  
"I'm going to kill him." Angel stated grimly. He marched over to the fallen vampire, lifted him by the now tattered shirt, and punched him twice in the face.  
  
"Angel. Stop!" She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, then backhanded him across his cheek.  
  
Angel looked at her in surprise. "I saw what he was doing to you. I heard you pleading with him."  
  
"It's not what you think."  
  
William pulled himself up and wiped the blood from his nose and mouth with the back of his hand. "Well, hello Peaches. Fancy meeting you here."  
  
Angel advanced on him, rage darkening his features. "What did you think you were doing? You were sent here to help her, not rape her."  
  
The words turned William cold. "I would never hurt her like that. Not again."  
  
"Again?" Angel raised his fist and grabbed him.  
  
Buffy wrenched his arm back. "You're not going to hit him. You will stop and listen."  
  
"What's going on here Buffy?"  
  
"Let's just all calm down and go inside to talk." She walked over to William. "And we need to clean your face up."  
  
With nearly identical nods of their heads, the two vampires followed her inside the house, eyeing each other warily. 


	15. Chapter 14

Part 14  
  
"Why are you here Angel?"  
  
"First, you're going to tell me what I just saw out there."  
  
They were sitting at the kitchen island, Buffy across from Angel. William was to her right, with a paper towel pressed to his nose. Buffy glanced over to him guiltily before facing Angel. "You just interrupted us... I mean we were. I was throwing myself at him."  
  
"That's not what it looked like."  
  
"I know what you thought. You were wrong."  
  
"Then why were you kissing him?"  
  
"That's none of your business."  
  
"You are both my business. I'm responsible..."  
  
"For nothing!" Buffy stood up, angry. "You gave up 'responsible' a long time ago."  
  
'Buffy..." William placed a calming hand on her arm. His face had stopped bleeding. "He does have a right to know if you're in danger. At least hear him out."  
  
"You're defending him?" She looked at his bruised face. "Where has he been the last two years?" She shook his hand off. "Oh, I see. The two noble vampires with souls are all teamed up now to serve the higher purpose."  
  
"Not exactly." William looked down and shook his head.  
  
"What then?" Buffy looked from one to the other.  
  
"What has he told you?" Angel wanted to know.  
  
"Not much." She admitted. "I know that Cordelia picked him up in Africa and brought him to you. You were in some sort of trouble."  
  
"That's all?" Angel asked, eyeing William warily.  
  
"What was there to tell? The two of you spent the summer in LA brooding together, then you sent him back here because you had more important things to do"  
  
"Did he tell you that?" Angel's eyes blazed.  
  
"No. That's just my take."  
  
"Buffy," William interrupted. "I asked Angel to let me come back here."  
  
"Let you? Since when do you listen to anything he has to say?"  
  
"It was easier to come with his blessing than fight him."  
  
"I don't understand you two. You're fighting on the same side now. You had all summer to work this out. Why all the hostility?"  
  
"We have over a hundred years of bad history to work through Buffy. William showing up with a new outlook on life doesn't just make that go away."  
  
"So you two spent the last three months squabbling over who gets to be the general, and who gets to be the foot soldier?"  
  
Angel shook his head. "I was in pretty bad shape when Cordy brought him around. It took me a while to get my strength back. I didn't find out about his soul until later. By that time..."  
  
William smirked. "Seems that I'd invaded his turf. Thought I'd do him a good turn and keep his business going for him. I shoulda remembered his jealous streak."  
  
"It wasn't that and you know it. You did everything you could to rub it in. You could have made things easier." Angel sneered.  
  
"What, spend a few years wallowing in my misery, living off of rats? Not my idea of making a difference. Besides, I had to shake you out of that great blue funk you were in."  
  
"You knew how I was betrayed..."  
  
"Yeah, and you laying around pissing and moaning about it wasn't doing much to help the situation."  
  
Buffy frowned. "What? You two spent the entire time at each other's throats?"  
  
"We managed well enough once the cheerleader talked some sense into the big pouf."  
  
"I told you not to call me that. And don't call her a cheerleader."  
  
"Oh yeah, what exactly is it that you're calling her these days?"  
  
"Shut up, William."  
  
"Sod off."  
  
Buffy smacked her hands on the counter top with a loud crack. "Stop it, both of you!"  
  
They stopped arguing. "Sorry Buffy." Angel's voice was quiet. "He just gets under my skin."  
  
"He seems to have that effect on a lot of people."  
  
Rather than being insulted, William looked rather pleased with himself. "Very well then. I think I'll be off. You two have a lot to..."  
  
"Wait just a minute." Angel growled. "I still want to know what was going on out there tonight."  
  
William shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Look. It was a one-time thing. We had a fight with a group of vamps and got a little worked up. It won't happen again, will it Buffy?"  
  
"I don't understand how it happened in the first place." Angel eyed William speculatively. "Are those scratches...?"  
  
Buffy blushed and turned her face. "Why don't you just tell us why you came here tonight."  
  
Angel walked away to collect his thoughts, then turned to the other two. "There have been some rumblings in the Demon world that something big is going to go down here."  
  
"Well yeah, we'd kind of sussed that out." William told him.  
  
Buffy spent the next half-hour detailing all the recent demon and vampire encounters, with William adding in comments and observations. Angel sat quietly through the narrative, nodding thoughtfully from time to time, his silence revealing his concentration. Finally he sighed and stood to pace around the small kitchen.  
  
"I really don't have anything new to add to what I've already told you. I'll have Fred go over some of this other information to see what she can dig up."  
  
"Fred?" Buffy frowned. "I thought Wesley was your big research guy."  
  
"Don't go there pet." William warned. His warning was too late, as Angel had already launched into a rant on traitors. "He does go on, doesn't he?" He whispered into her ear, before walking over to clap his hand across Angel's shoulder. "Seems to me I've played that role for you as well, Peaches, and looky at how well we're doing."  
  
"Fu..."  
  
"Ah, ah, ah." William wagged a finger at him. "Temper, temper." He turned to Buffy. "At that, I'll be off. Seems to me you and the dreary one have a lot to discuss, and you don't need me around bollixing things up." He walked over the refrigerator and jotted down an address on the notepad there. He tore it off the top sheet of paper and handed it to the other man. "This is my place, Angel. If you need somewhere to crash and you aren't feeling inclined to stake me after you and Blondie have your heart- to-heart, come on over. The fridge is stocked and you can help yourself. Just see that you don't wake me up with that god-awful snoring racket you make." With that, he turned and breezed out the back door.  
  
Angel noted how Buffy watched him go. He approached her soundlessly and took her chin gently in his hand. He studied the conflicting emotions in her face. "What's going on with you two Buffy?"  
  
She avoided his gaze. "What did he tell you?"  
  
"He said he wanted a soul because he was in love with you. He thought it would give him a shot." A pitying look crossed his face. "He should have known you'd never feel that way toward him."  
  
"There's something you should know." Buffy searched for the right words, hoping that Angel would somehow understand. "The last two years have been so hard for me."  
  
"I know Buffy."  
  
"No you don't!" Her head snapped up angrily. "You don't know because you weren't here."  
  
"But you've told me..."  
  
"It isn't the same." She fidgeted restlessly. "First Dawn showed up and we found out that she hadn't really ever been here, then Riley left." She looked at Angel accusingly. "I'm sure that pleased you to no end."  
  
"I never like to see you hurting."  
  
"He was right to go." She let out a soft breath. "He knew I didn't love him the way he needed me to. I cared about him, but it wasn't enough." She looked at Angel. "I thought I couldn't have real feelings for another man after you."  
  
"I'm... I'm sorry Buffy."  
  
"No." She put her hand up, as if to ward off his words. "I don't want to hear that from you. I just want you to understand."  
  
"Understand what?"  
  
"I need you to understand where my head was. My mother died and I was alone to take care of Dawn and the rest of the world."  
  
"Buffy, I knew that you had Giles and your friends. And if you needed me all you had to do was call."  
  
"What?" She looked at him in frustration. "Call you so you could come out and hold my hand and say sweet things to make me feel better, then leave before sunup?"  
  
"I know." He acknowledged quietly.  
  
"You weren't here, but he was." She looked at him steadily. "Spike never had to be asked to help. He was here and he did what I needed without question. He almost died twice protecting Dawn, even when everybody else thought it was hopeless."  
  
"His motives weren't completely pure Buffy."  
  
"I know that. I know he was trying to play nice to score some points with me."  
  
"Then why are you telling me this?"  
  
"Did you know that he stayed around after I died? Did you know that he still fought demons and vampires; that he still took care of my sister?"  
  
"It was guilt..."  
  
"He had no soul Angel. Where did he get the guilt?" Her eyes flashed angrily again. "You never seemed to have any."  
  
Angel had no answer for her.  
  
"Then when I was brought back, I felt alone... only half alive." She studied his face for reaction. "Except when I was with him."  
  
"What are you trying to say Buffy? You didn't..."  
  
"I started sleeping with him."  
  
"No!"  
  
"He loved me. He let me... use him." She looked down in shame.  
  
"Oh Buffy." He shook his head. "You were weak. He took advantage of you."  
  
"No, he didn't."  
  
"He saw his chance to move in, and that's what he did. What happened? Did he wait until you were alone and needy, then make his move?"  
  
"It was me. I started it."  
  
"You wouldn't. Not with him."  
  
"Wake up! Why would I lie to you about this?" She clenched her hands, determined to make him listen. "I went to him. I started everything. I would sleep with him, then I would tell him that he was a disgusting thing and that I would never touch him again, but I always did. Over and over and over again." She looked up at him, her face full of shame. "I even beat him and told him I could never love him. Then I went to him again."  
  
"What did he do to you? He said he."  
  
She thought for a moment. "Look, it wasn't the best situation, and when I finally ended it, things got... ugly." She paused. "Then he left."  
  
"Buffy, that twisted relationship; that wasn't you."  
  
"Oh yes, it was. Now you tell me, who was the monster?" She began to cry. "I didn't want you to find out. I never wanted you to know I had that kind of ugliness inside me." She turned away from him. "It took almost losing the world and being powerless to stop it to make me stop thinking about myself. I almost threw everything away."  
  
"Buffy, come here." He took her hands and led her to a chair. He sat facing her. "Do you think you're the only one who's done terrible things in the last year?"  
  
"You're good, Angel. You wouldn't use someone who loved you like that."  
  
"Maybe it's time you found out about the ugliness inside of me."  
  
"It can't be worse."  
  
"I turned my back on all my friends. I tried to lose my soul."  
  
"Why? How?"  
  
"I was in a dark place. I wanted to stop the pain. So I slept with Darla."  
  
Buffy's eyes grew wide. "Did you...?"  
  
"No. Sex alone wasn't enough to break the curse. I didn't love her, so it didn't really mean anything to me."  
  
"Oh." Buffy fiddled with a button on her shirt, surprised. "So it wasn't the. I mean, when you turned evil it wasn't just because we.?  
  
"No. It was because of how I felt about you when I was with you."  
  
"I see." She swallowed hard as she digested that bit of information. "So you tried to change, but it didn't take?"  
  
"That's not the worst of it. I used Darla and Drusilla to slaughter humans."  
  
Buffy's head shot up. Her expression was stricken.  
  
"They were human, but they were monsters."  
  
"Angel, it's not up to us to pass judgment on humans."  
  
"I know. And I also know that you will probably never see me in the same light again, but I worked through that time in my life, and I've tried to make it up to the friends I hurt in LA. It's taken a lot of time to earn their trust again."  
  
"I don't know what to say."  
  
"That isn't all of it." He waited until she nodded, ready to hear more. "Darla had a baby. My baby."  
  
"Oh no." The color drained from Buffy's face. "How could that happen?" she whispered in shock.  
  
"It was a miracle, and a prophecy. Darla is dead, but now I have Connor."  
  
"You had a child and you didn't even think to tell me?" Disbelief still colored her words. "You have a baby?"  
  
"He's not a baby any more." Angel went on to relate how Wesley had betrayed him and how Connor had grown up without his real father, then returned to kill him. "... And that's when Cordy showed up with William."  
  
"You called her Cordy."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"William said something earlier about her, and you defended her." Buffy watched his expression closely. "She was there while you went through all this."  
  
He nodded, but remained silent.  
  
"She used to have a wicked crush on you. Did you know that?"  
  
"She was just a kid then."  
  
"So was I." Understanding was dawning inside her. "You have feelings for her, don't you?"  
  
Angel paused, then nodded again.  
  
"Are you in love with Cordelia?" Her incredulous expression told him that she already knew the answer.  
  
"I haven't told her yet."  
  
"Oh Angel. What's happened to us?"  
  
"We're just moving on with our lives."  
  
"You are." She spat bitterly.  
  
"And so are you... now."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Tell me about William."  
  
"I already did."  
  
"You told me that you were lost, and that you used him. But then you found yourself again." He waited for her agreement. "And now you've put your life back together and rediscovered your family and friends."  
  
"That's right."  
  
"Then tell me why you were kissing him tonight. Are you still using him?"  
  
"No." She shook her head, then looked up at him in wonder. "No, I'm not."  
  
"Why did you kiss him, Buffy?"  
  
"Because he was there..."  
  
"Is that why you usually kiss men?"  
  
"No! I..."  
  
"Tell me."  
  
"I wanted him."  
  
"You wanted a man?"  
  
"No, I wanted him!" The words poured out of her in a flurry. "He makes me laugh and he's there when I need him. He makes me so mad I can't see straight, then quotes beautiful poetry. He teases my sister like an older brother would and she adores him. He fights beside me like he's an extension of me. He understands me better than I understand myself. He always has."  
  
"Are you telling me that you love him?"  
  
Buffy stopped. She looked down and all around the room - anywhere but at Angel. "I just don't know." She walked to the door and stood looking into the darkness outside with her arms wrapped tightly around herself. "Why was it different with him?"  
  
Angel moved behind her and rested his hands lightly on her shoulders. "What do you mean?"  
  
She turned to look at him. "Why could he love me when he had no soul, but you couldn't?" Her eyes were glassy with tears that threatened to spill if she blinked.  
  
He turned her into the cool comfort of his embrace and rocked her gently back and forth as her tears broke free. "Oh Buffy, it wasn't you. Don't ever think it was because of you." He loosened his hold on her and she stepped back, wiping her eyes with her fingertips.  
  
"Why then?"  
  
"When Drusilla turned him he was idealistic, full of hope and romantic notions. She just caught him at a weak moment. He was able to keep that part of himself." Angel's face hardened. "I had very little humanity left in me when I met Darla. I was shallow and lazy, looking out only for my own interests. There was nothing left when the demon took over."  
  
She nodded in understanding. "Your soul made you feel again."  
  
He nodded. "Spike never lost that. That's probably why I always resented him so much. I used to tell him that he was soft and weak. I would use his feelings against him to try and control him." Angel smiled at the irony. "That's what finally drove him to turn on me."  
  
"You would have destroyed the world."  
  
"It's what I wanted."  
  
"Then why is it so much harder for me to forgive him?"  
  
"You're going to have to answer that one yourself, Buffy."  
  
*****  
  
Angel left quietly. Buffy watched him walk away, then shut off the lights and started up the stairs to her bedroom. Dawn jumped up from her place on the staircase where she had listened to most of the conversation. She ran as quietly as she could to her room and jumped under the covers to feign sleep as Buffy passed by to look in on her. After Buffy had gone, Dawn looked up and slowly a brilliant smile bloomed across her face. She bit her bottom lip in glee, then hugged her pillow before plumping it back into a puffy shape, and lying back down to dream happy dreams. 


	16. Chapter 15

Part 15  
  
"Grand Re-Opening October 19th" proclaimed the banner across the front of the Magic Box. Giles paused to admire the artful display of magic paraphernalia and books in the new picture window, as well as the shiny brass door latch on the new wooden door that made the shop look homey and welcoming. He shifted the large box from his right and to his left and let himself in. The bell at the top of the doorway announced his presence. It was one of the few things in the shop that had survived Willow's attack.  
  
The store interior was pristine and ready for the next day when, hopefully, it would be full of customers. Xander had outdone himself. Giles was glad Anya had insisted on the top-of-the-line insurance coverage. Her business instincts were unparalleled.  
  
The subject of his musings was currently polishing a display case filled with crystals and ceramic figurines. "Giles!" she greeted him. "Isn't this great?" Her enthusiasm was infectious.  
  
"Yes." He nodded. "Quite wonderful. Tomorrow should be a success."  
  
"That's exactly what I was thinking." She noticed his box. "What have you got there?"  
  
"Just a little gift for the big day."  
  
"You brought me a gift?" Anya's head tilted and her expression softened into a sweet smile.  
  
"Er, yes." He acknowledged modestly. "Just a bit of something to help with the." He trailed off as she hurried out of the room. ".transition." he finished.  
  
She re-entered from the back room with a package wrapped in gold paper. "Look. I've got something for you too!" She was beaming proudly.  
  
"Thank you Anya. This is unexpected."  
  
"Open it!" She urged.  
  
He lowered his box onto the counter and took her gift. It was about a foot long and heavy for its size. He broke the string and unwound the gold paper. Inside was a small statue. It was quite ugly with large protruding eyes, as well as a large. "Anya, would this be a fertility idol?"  
  
"Yes!" She nodded her head, pleased that he had recognized it. "It signifies good fortune and wealth. When I saw it I knew it would be perfect for you."  
  
"Well thank you. It was a lovely thought."  
  
"What did you get me?"  
  
He gestured to the box. "Why don't you open it and see?"  
  
The box was sealed shut. Giles handed her a pocketknife and she cut through the tape and pushed the flaps out of the way. Inside was packing paper that she quickly discarded onto the counter. "Oh Giles!" She exclaimed peering in. "Is it.? Yes!" She squealed happily. She lifted out the new electronic scanner. "It's perfect! I can use this with my new cash register and sell my merchandise with a greater speed and accuracy." She turned to him. Her eyes were glowing. "Thank you!"  
  
"You're quite wel." He was cut off by Anya's grateful lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck to hold him close while she kissed him, then released him just as suddenly.  
  
"My goodness." Giles was stunned.  
  
"You know that I had sex with Spike, don't you?"  
  
"Why do I keep hearing confessions to that effect?"  
  
"I just wanted to make sure that you knew. Some people around here have trouble forgiving other people around here. It's much easier when things are out in the open."  
  
"I appreciate that Anya, and yes, I did gather that something had occurred with William."  
  
"It was just a one time thing. We were drunk."  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Did you like that twisty thing I did with my tongue?"  
  
"Umm. Well, yes. It was quite.nice."  
  
"It used to get Xander all worked up so that he wanted to, you know." She reached out and stroked his tie. "I thought you might like it too."  
  
"Well I can't say that I've ever." She was kissing him again. For the life of him, Giles didn't understand why he was letting her. To be truthful, he seemed to be kissing her back. He really needed to put a stop to this, but Anya was a breath of fresh air in what had been a particularly dreary year. Besides, the girl happened to be a phenomenal kisser.  
  
"My god Anya. Is there a man around here that you won't give it up for?" Xander stood inside the front door, his face flushed with resentment.  
  
Giles and Anya had been so intent upon each other that they hadn't heard the bell ring when he came in. Now they jumped guiltily.  
  
"Well, there's you." Anya sneered. "Besides, I wasn't giving it up. I was kissing him and it's none of your business."  
  
Xander stalked over to her, his toolbox in his right hand, his left clenched into a fist. "Were you always this much of a slut, or is this part of the Vengeance Demon thing?"  
  
"That's enough Xander." Giles' voice was hard. "You owe her an apology."  
  
Xander looked over to him and chuckled bitterly. "I hope you're not letting her lead you on. She's doing this just to get back at me, since she can't curse me herself." He stormed away. "I'm just going to get the rest of my stuff, and I'm through."  
  
Giles moved to follow him, his color high with anger.  
  
"Stop." Anya held onto his arm. "Whatever you say to him won't do any good."  
  
"What I want to say?!" Giles huffed indignantly. "More likely where I want to hit. He had no call to speak to you in that manner."  
  
Anya's expression became wistful. "He wasn't always so bitter." She shook her head. "Oh, I don't know what to do to make things better."  
  
Giles looked back at the doorway to the back room. "I just wish he'd get over his ridiculous obsessions!"  
  
Anya smiled and grasped her pendant. "Granted!"  
  
"What?" Giles whipped his head back to her.  
  
Anya was excited and bounced happily. "You just made a wish in anger, and I granted it!"  
  
"Do you mean...?"  
  
Xander, who had walked back into the room with a sheepish expression, interrupted him. "Giles, Anya... about all that crap I just dumped on you... listen, I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from."  
  
"Uh, that's all right Xander. Are you feeling well?"  
  
"I'm feeling great! I can't wait for the big day tomorrow."  
  
"Xander," Anya stepped forward. "Do you hate me?"  
  
He seemed to be astonished by the question. "Of course not, An."  
  
"And what about Spike?"  
  
"Wow, he has a soul now. How about that?" He shook a finger at Anya. "You know, he hates being called Spike."  
  
"And Buffy?"  
  
"I'm glad she's doing better. It's good to see her smile sometimes."  
  
"What about Willow?"  
  
"I miss her. I hope she gets better soon."  
  
"And your parents?"  
  
Xander shook his head slowly from side to side and blew out a long breath. "There are two people who just can't let go of old baggage. It makes me sad that they've chosen to spend their lives being miserable." He looked around the shop. "Anya, this place looks really great. I'll be here tomorrow for your big opening. Let me know if you need anything before then." He gave her a quick hug, shook Giles' hand, and walked out of the shop whistling.  
  
"What was that?" Giles asked, flummoxed.  
  
"Zipidee-Doo-Dah, I believe."  
  
*****  
  
Xander was so upbeat and carefree as he exited the shop that he didn't notice the slight man standing across the road gazing at the building. His benign expression revealed none of the complex thoughts going on behind his strange, dark eyes.  
  
A few minutes prior Doc had sensed a small surge of magical power, which had attracted him to this spot. Interesting. The witch had not returned, yet some power was still present. He had wanted to determine the source of it. Since this appeared to be a magic shop, small amounts of mystical energy were to be expected, so this was no cause for concern. His plan was coming together nicely; he just had to wait patiently for the right time. Waiting was not a problem. He was patient. He had made a foolish mistake before, but it was nothing that couldn't be rectified. This time there would be no surprises. He had tested the slayer and the vampire, and knew that they were resourceful. He hadn't expected the young minions he had sent to the house to actually defeat them, but he was impressed with the speed in which his young vampires were dispatched. Then there had been that display of passion between the warriors afterward. That was an interesting development. It might prove useful when the time came to implement his plan. They would not be easy to capture, but there was a path of lesser resistance that would serve to bring the others to him.  
  
He smiled coldly. It would happen soon, very soon. 


	17. Chapter 16

Part 16  
  
The re-opening was a success. The shop had bustled with activity since Anya had turned the sign from "Closed" to "Open" and unlocked the door. The timing had been perfect. With Halloween only two weeks away, even the common folks unversed in the magical arts had been coming in to buy items.  
  
The scanner was working perfectly, and Anya looked to Giles often to let him know how much she appreciated his gift. He would return her glance with a smile before a customer would draw his attention away. It was a good day.  
  
Xander and Buffy had dropped by to help out. Since Buffy was still without a new job, she had been there for most of the day. Anya tried to keep her away from the customers as much as possible, but she was very handy for carting merchandise around and helping to load vehicles. Dawn was in charge of greeting people as they entered and helping them find what they were looking for. Anya had no intention of letting the girl anywhere near the cash register, no matter how sorry she said she was for the petty thefts she had committed over the last couple of years.  
  
The overall mood inside was upbeat. Two more hours until close, and then receipts to tally. She sighed happily once again, then turned to ring up another customer.  
  
Buffy set down a box of ceramic figurines that were needed to restock a display case, then flexed her shoulders and stretched her arms. She'd carted so much stuff today that she wouldn't need to work out later. The bell at the door pealed once again, as it had constantly all day. She felt familiar tingles go down her spine and she turned expectantly. He was here.  
  
She hadn't spoken to William since the night Angel visited. She had a feeling he was avoiding her. She had stopped by the school on Friday afternoon on the pretext of seeing Dawn, but he was occupied with some students. She contented herself with watching him interact with the teenagers. He listened intently to their comments and laughed with them often. It was amazing how comfortable he was relating to people who would have been nothing but a food source to him a year ago. He really seemed to enjoy them as individuals. He had finished his question and answer session, then glanced over to Buffy and pointed at his watch, indicating that he was late for something. He'd gathered up his things and left the room quickly after that. She hadn't been able to communicate beyond a small wave.  
  
Now they were in the same room, and she wasn't going to miss an opportunity. "Hi." She stepped up beside him. She glanced around. "What do you think?"  
  
"Looks like Anya's got another success on her hands."  
  
She nodded her agreement. "It's been like this all day." She tilted her head to the side. "What brings you here?"  
  
"Just checking up. It's good to see everyone working together."  
  
"Almost everyone." Buffy commented, with a hint of sadness entering her tone.  
  
"Ah yes, the birds." He understood. "Any word from Willow?"  
  
"Not since she called a couple of weeks ago."  
  
"I know I haven't really said too much about Tara, but it was really such a shame. She was a sweet lady."  
  
Buffy looked at him sadly. "You know, she was the only person I felt like I could talk to last year. She didn't judge me or try to tell me what to do."  
  
"That explains all the teasing she dished out to me at your birthday party." He clenched his jaw. "Warren. I wish I'd been here."  
  
"It wouldn't have made a difference. Nobody could have stopped it."  
  
"I didn't know he was capable of."  
  
"None of us did. That isn't your fault."  
  
He sniffed and gave a small smirk. "I'm sure Xander would have a different take on that."  
  
Buffy's eyes widened. "Oh, wait until you talk to Xander. You won't believe it!"  
  
"What.?"  
  
She took his hand. "Come on. You'll see." She dragged him through the shop and toward the back room. William tried to pull his hand away, thinking that the sight of Buffy having any contact with him would set the git off, but she held on resolutely, lacing her fingers through his. She pulled him through the doorway. "Hey Xander, look who's here!"  
  
Xander turned from where he was showing some of the workout equipment to a teenaged boy, and smiled in greeting. "Hey guys!" He walked over and patted William on the shoulder. "Glad you could finally make it. I wanted you to see some of the new equipment we installed."  
  
William stared at him wordlessly, waiting for an insult or punch that never came. Buffy smiled up at him and squeezed his hand. "What do you think of my new training room?"  
  
The vampire finally found his tongue. "Looks nice. sturdy." He was unsure of what was happening, so he decided to play along. "You've outdone yourself Harris. Why all the fancy upgrades?"  
  
Xander shrugged modestly. "Just trying to do what I can. I thought that if we modernized this, Buffy might be able to start teaching some self-defense classes here." He looked at William sincerely. "What do you think?"  
  
"I.uh, I think that Buffy would do a great job teaching self-defense."  
  
"That's great!" Xander clapped him on the back. "We were wondering if you'd be willing to help out with that."  
  
"Help out? You're asking me to help Buffy?"  
  
"Well, she needs a sparring partner that she can't hurt when she's showing moves to people." Xander smiled. "You'd be perfect."  
  
William gave up trying to understand what was happening. "Let me get this right, Harris. You want me around here with Buffy? You are asking me to spend time at a place where you know I'll see Anya?"  
  
Xander nodded his head sheepishly. "Look, I know I've been really hard on you in the past, and I've busted your chops for a lot of things that really weren't your fault." He held out his right hand to the other man. "If you can forgive me for trying to kill you, I think we can make this work. What do you say?"  
  
William paused for only a second, the reached out to shake Xander's hand. Their eyes met in mutual respect and agreement. "Sounds like a plan."  
  
Buffy finally dropped his hand so that she would hug Xander. "We'll see you later. Thanks for all your work on the place."  
  
"Don't worry about that Buffy. You'll get a bill. after you start your classes."  
  
She and William left. He was mystified. "What just happened in there?"  
  
"A curse!" Buffy told him happily. "Isn't it great?"  
  
"William." Anya rushed over to him from her spot behind the counter. "Will you please go help Giles? I believe that woman he's trying to help is a Hathren Demon, and he's having trouble with her dialect."  
  
With a nod to Buffy, he departed to help the Watcher. Buffy stared thoughtfully at the two Englishmen. Anya noted her gaze and stood to watch them as well. She leaned over to whisper in Buffy's ear. "Have you been in a room, and a certain man comes in, and your heart starts beating just a little harder, and your skin gets all tingly, and it's hard to breathe, and pretty soon all you can think about is dragging him off somewhere where you can be alone and mash your bodies all together?"  
  
"Yeah." Buffy sighed. "More and more all the time."  
  
*****  
  
Two hours later, an exhausted and euphoric Anya turned her sign back to "Closed" and lowered the blinds behind the display window. She joined the others lounging around the table. Everyone was mellow and hungry.  
  
"Where is the deliveryman with those pizzas?" Xander asked.  
  
On cue there was a knock at the back door. William rose to answer it. "I'll get it. It's on me." He called over his shoulder while reaching for his wallet.  
  
"You know," Dawn mused. "It's nice having someone else around with a job." A thoughtful look crossed her pretty face. "How much do you suppose a teacher in Sunnydale makes anyway?"  
  
"I don't know." Buffy frowned. "I never really thought about it."  
  
Anya reached over to touch Giles on the hand. "You used to work at the school. How much did you make?"  
  
"Pardon me?"  
  
Anya laughed. "Humans are so uptight about discussing money!"  
  
"I hardly think this is a human issue." Giles sounded slightly affronted.  
  
"Oh yeah? Watch this." Anya waited until Spike came back carrying three large pizzas and two liters of Coke. "William, how much do you make now?"  
  
"Hundred and Twelve Thousand, before taxes."  
  
"What?!" Buffy almost fell off her chair.  
  
"See!" Anya nodded; satisfied that she had proven her point.  
  
"You make HOW MUCH?" Buffy's mouth gaped open.  
  
Giles removed and wiped his glasses.  
  
"Obscene, isn't it?" William commented.  
  
"Giles, did you make that kind of money when you worked at the school?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Well, librarians, as a rule, don't command quite the same pay scale as the teachers do. There is a, well. a lower mortality rate."  
  
"But, but, this is your first year teaching!" Buffy exclaimed.  
  
"Hey, he's a great teacher." Dawn pointed out.  
  
"With a degree from Oxford." William added.  
  
"It was issued in 1874!" Buffy sputtered.  
  
"Lucky for me they didn't even look at the date."  
  
"Anya," Xander added. "He makes almost as much as you do."  
  
"I don't believe this!" Buffy paced around the table. "I just spent the last seven months smelling like the DoubleMeat Triple Slam for six dollars an hour! I have zits from clogged pores and grease plugs in my ears."  
  
Xander pulled her down on the chair next to him and laid an arm across her shoulders. "It's OK Buff. It was a learning experience for you. We'll get you all set up with your own Dojo in here and you can pull down the big bucks too."  
  
"You think?" Buffy wrinkled her nose. "How much can a self-defense instructor make in Sunnydale?"  
  
"I think you can charge upward of twenty dollars per hour." Anya opined. "Per student."  
  
"Nobody is going to pay me that much."  
  
"Buffy!" Dawn leaned forward. "Are you nuts? All the girls in school can't wait for you to open. Chelsea said her sister takes classes in LA and pays thirty, and that isn't even a Hellmouth."  
  
They were interrupted by another knock on the door. William looked at Xander quizzically. "Did you order anything else? Maybe some wings?"  
  
"No." Xander shook his head  
  
"Hello.?" A soft voice came from the back.  
  
Everybody sat and gaped as Willow entered the room. "Hi guys! I'm back." 


	18. Chapter 17

Part 17  
  
"Willow!" Xander caught her up in a huge embrace. "I'm so glad to see you."  
  
The others stood and slowly made their way over to the pair. Buffy wasn't sure what to say, so she stepped forward and rubbed her old friend's arm "Hey, Will."  
  
"Buffy." Willow let go of Xander to hug her best friend. "I've missed you all so much."  
  
"We've missed you too."  
  
One by one they stepped up to greet her: Giles, Dawn, William, and finally Anya. "I'm not going to hug you Willow." She informed her. "We haven't been especially close in the past, and I'm afraid of you."  
  
"That's OK Anya, I understand. I'm a little afraid of me too."  
  
"Willow, how are you feeling?" Giles didn't mask his concern.  
  
"I'm fine. Really." She noticed the shop "Wow! Major redecorating."  
  
"And we have you to thank for that!" Xander threw his arm around her. "Come on over. We were just having dinner."  
  
"Pizza! Is this heaven?"  
  
"No, it's just Sunnydale" Dawn answered lightly. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming back?"  
  
Willow picked up a slice of pizza and bit in. She rolled her eyes in ecstasy. "Umm. Oh that is so good." She swallowed and licked her top lip. "I knew that everyone would be busy here, and I didn't want a big scene at the airport either. Plus," she looked around shyly, "I wanted to take some time to get my nerve up before I walked back in here."  
  
"And you did walk, right?" Anya asked pointedly.  
  
"Oh, absolutely!" Willow assured them. "No swoosh and pop for me."  
  
"So you're off magic again?" Xander passed her a cup of soda.  
  
"Completely." Willow took a sip. "I'm off magic forever."  
  
Buffy reached out to touch her friend's arm. "Can you be sure of that Will?"  
  
"Yep." She reached out and wiggled her fingers. "See, no light displays. I'm clean." She noted their concerned expressions. "Really everyone. I've been stripped of every last trace of power. I couldn't do a pencil levitation if my life depended on it."  
  
"Stripped, Willow? That sounds extreme." Buffy commented.  
  
"It's OK, really. It's what I wanted. This way I know I can never hurt anyone again. You'll just have to take me as I am: plain old Willow."  
  
Xander hugged her again. "She was always my favorite part anyway."  
  
"Thanks Xander." She glanced around and waved her hands at the table. "Eat everyone! And tell me what's been happening. I want to know everything."  
  
*****  
  
"Thank you for walking me home Giles."  
  
"My pleasure Anya. It's been a big day."  
  
"Yes. And tomorrow is Sunday, so we can sleep in."  
  
"Ah, yes. It was good planning to have the re-opening on a Saturday."  
  
"And all the free help didn't hurt either."  
  
Giles smiled in amusement. "Well then, I'll be off." He stepped away.  
  
"You aren't coming in?" The dismay was clear in her tone.  
  
"It's late dear, and I know you want to go to bed."  
  
"That's right, I do. So come in now and I won't have to wait any longer."  
  
"Anya," he braced his hand against her doorway and leaned over slightly to study her face. "Perhaps tonight is not the best time to get into this, but we probably need to talk about what happened yesterday."  
  
"You mean the kissing."  
  
"Yes, that is what I'm referring to." He adjusted his glasses on his nose. "I'm afraid I didn't use my best judgment when I allowed that to... to continue."  
  
"You didn't like it? You said you liked it."  
  
"Well, yes, it was very nice Anya... but most likely it shouldn't happen again."  
  
"If I were to kiss you again, you don't think you'd enjoy it anymore?"  
  
"I'm sure it would be a pleasant experience. You have very nice... lips."  
  
"Thank you. I enjoyed your lips too."  
  
Giles was flattered, in spite of himself. "It's very kind of you to say so." He roused himself from his bemused state. "Now wait, this is not what I intended..."  
  
"What did you intend?"  
  
"We are really not well suited, you and I." As a hurt look crept into her face, he rushed to explain. "Fir... first of all there is the age difference."  
  
"There isn't much I can do about that, silly. Once you're over a thousand years old, the dating pool is narrowed considerably if you restrict yourself to staying inside your age bracket."  
  
"Yes, of course. But that's not quite what I meant. It's just that I represent a sort of authority figure to all of you."  
  
"You quit."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"You quit. You left and went back to England so that Buffy could be her own authority figure. We still respect you, but you're simply not in charge any more."  
  
"I suppose, in a way, that that's true."  
  
"So if you don't have any more objections, come inside and we can kiss some more." Anya reached for his hand and tugged him into her apartment. She shut the door quickly behind him, then loosened his tie with a quick tug of her thumb and index finger. She pressed up against him and nuzzled his neck softly.  
  
"Anya, this isn't right."  
  
"Why not? Do you have a girlfriend back in England?" She kissed him behind his ear and nibbled on his earlobe.  
  
"Um, actually, no."  
  
"Are you gay?"  
  
"Pardon me?"  
  
"Impotent?" She slid her hand down his torso. "No. You're definitely not impotent." She brought her hand back up and removed his glasses. "So tell me why this is wrong."  
  
His hand groped along the wall to find the door. He felt for the knob and tried to twist it. "Is this door locked?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good."  
  
*****  
  
Buffy and Dawn took the long way home, cutting across two cemeteries in a mini-patrol. "Kind of slow tonight." Dawn commented.  
  
"Huh?" Buffy's mind was elsewhere.  
  
"Hello! Patrolling?" Dawn teased her. "Where are all the vamps?"  
  
Buffy paused to consider the observation. "You're right. They've been thick as flies lately, and I haven't even seen one tonight."  
  
The girls resumed walking. "Maybe you scared them off the other night."  
  
"What other night?"  
  
"In our back yard - with my teacher." She grinned.  
  
"You saw that?"  
  
"Oh, yeah!" Dawn smacked her on the arm. "Buffy, you were a freaking animal!"  
  
"Stop it!" Buffy blushed. "It was a good fight, and there he was looking so."  
  
"Terrified?" Now Buffy smacked Dawn's arm. "Ow!"  
  
"So I guess you saw Angel, too?"  
  
"It was better than Days of Our Lives."  
  
"And then you lurked on the stairs and heard the rest?"  
  
"So are you going to tell him?"  
  
Buffy stopped. "I don't know what to say to him. I treated him so badly, I don't know if he would even want to get involved with me now."  
  
"So then why don't you find out?" 


	19. Chapter 18

Part 18  
  
William erased his white board, and rubbed at the green smudges on his fingers. This marker stuff didn't come off quite as easily as the old chalk used to. Then there was the smell. With his heightened vampire senses, there were times when he became almost light-headed when he wrote a lot. Today he had posted an outline, and now was trying to fight off a nasty headache. Too bad Cordelia wasn't around to zap his acetone allergy. He sat at his desk and reached for a student journal. It would take him a few hours to work through them and write his comments.  
  
He heard a soft footfall at the doorway. "Hello, Buffy." He said without looking up.  
  
"Hi." She shuffled from side to side uncertainly.  
  
"Dawn's gone."  
  
"I know. I thought that maybe we could. talk."  
  
He sat back in his chair and rubbed his forehead with the thumb and fingers of one hand. "About what? More strange creepy-crawlies stirring things up?"  
  
"Uh, no. Actually, it's been pretty quiet the last few days." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Unusually quiet."  
  
He motioned to a desk in the front row. "Have a seat."  
  
Buffy walked over to the place he had indicated and lowered herself into the student desk. She looked around the room as memories of her own high school days came back to her: passing notes to Willow, sniping at Cordelia and Harmony, watching female vampires combust. She was glad those days were behind her. How odd that she was sitting here looking at a vampire who wasn't in danger of turning into tinder. "How do you like it?" she asked him.  
  
"For the most part, teaching is very gratifying."  
  
"I meant the daylight part."  
  
"Oh." He smiled genuinely. "It's nice. I didn't realize how much I missed it."  
  
"Did it bother Angel, that you can do this?"  
  
His smile faded and he looked back down at the notebook on his desk. "So this is about Angel then, is it?" He sighed. "Didn't you two lovebirds hash everything out last week?"  
  
"We're not lovebirds anymore, and besides," she tilted her head inquiringly, "Didn't he go by your place to stay?"  
  
"He was sleeping when I left for work in the morning, and gone by the time I went home." He glanced up. "It was a long day - PTA meeting."  
  
Amusement fluttered across her face. "You. and parents?"  
  
"Who'd have thought?"  
  
"Yeah." She laughed. "The last time you were here on a parent teacher night, you."  
  
He scowled and slammed the notebook closed. "I remember."  
  
She glanced down uncomfortably, unsure of what to say. Silence hung uneasily in the room. He was usually so upbeat that she tended to forget the weight of guilt he shouldered for his past crimes. The memory of their first fight was something he would have enjoyed rehashing with her before. Now it was overshadowed by all the deaths of innocents he had caused that night. She stood uncertainly, debating whether or not to leave.  
  
Giggling from the doorway interrupted her somber thoughts. Buffy groaned inwardly. It was Dawn's friends from the lunchroom. "Are we interrupting?" The blond asked with an annoying little lilt.  
  
"No, no. Not at all." William told them, and motioned for them to enter.  
  
Chelsea appeared to be the spokesperson for the group. "We were wondering if you'd be willing to do something for us."  
  
He sat back, seemingly at ease with the teens. Buffy envied his easy manner with them. He always seemed to be on guard with her. "And what would that be?"  
  
"The student council has decided to have a Halloween Dance this year, and we wanted to know if you would be a chaperone."  
  
"Ah. I see." He put on a show of considering the question seriously. "There would be costumes, I presume?"  
  
"Yes. You could come as whatever you'd like."  
  
Buffy couldn't resist. "You would make a great vampire!"  
  
"No way!" Missy opined. "Vampires are all dark and creepy." She turned her adoring gaze back to William. "I was thinking rock star."  
  
"Or a knight." A petite brunette piped up from the back.  
  
"How about you?" Missy asked Buffy. "What will you wear?"  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Well, you'd be his date, since you're his girlfriend and all."  
  
William made a coughing sound, and appeared to be choking. Buffy glared at him. Since when did vampires choke? "Urm, yes, Buffy. You could come as a damsel in distress."  
  
She stared daggers at him. "Been there, done that. Remember honey?"  
  
He walked around the desk and thew his arm across Buffy's shoulders then turned to the girls. "We'd be glad to help out, wouldn't we Sweetness." He gave her a firm squeeze.  
  
"Delighted." She dug her elbow into his ribs.  
  
"Great!" Chelsea gave a satisfied nod and turned to Buffy. "We'll see you then." The girls walked to the door. "Goodbye, Mr. Browning. Thanks!"  
  
He waved and waited for the girls to leave, then dropped his arm from Buffy's shoulders and turned to her. "I told you this whole 'boyfriend' scheme of yours was a bloody stupid idea."  
  
"I don't know." She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "A Halloween dance might be fun. It sure beats sitting around on the slowest slaying night of the year. Besides, what else do you have to do?"  
  
"I was referring to us."  
  
"What about us?"  
  
"Standing around, forced to make with the googly eyes all night."  
  
She tilted her head. "That might not be so awful."  
  
He turned away from her. "Go home Slayer. These marker fumes are getting to you, too." He walked back to his chair and prepared to sit.  
  
"Can't we at least talk about it?"  
  
"About what?" He turned to face her again, with more than a hint of exasperation in his voice.  
  
"About what happened the other night."  
  
He closed his eyes, took a breath, then opened them again. "Like I told Angel, it won't happen again. I know what it was and I promise not to read anything more into it."  
  
"This isn't like before."  
  
"It's exactly like before, except I seem to have a conscience now and I really don't want to revisit being your dirty little secret." He sat down and reached for another notebook. "I have a lot of work to do here, so why don't you go on your merry way and find yourself a nice non-demon sort to scratch that itch of yours."  
  
That did it. She grabbed the back of his chair and pulled it away from the desk, spun it around, and leaned over with her hands on the armrests.  
  
"First of all, I have not been impaired by any mysterious classroom fumes. Second, since everybody knows about what happened between us last year, you can hardly be considered a secret anymore. And third." She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, taking advantage of his surprise to deepen the kiss intimately so that he couldn't misconstrue her meaning. After a long, lingering moment, she disentangled her mouth from his and stood up. "You are the only one who can scratch my itch. Deal with it." She turned and strode out of the room.  
  
He sat back in his chair, looking at the vacant doorway. A bemused smile touched his still wet mouth. His headache was gone.  
  
*****  
  
Dawn entered her house with her backpack slung over one shoulder.  
  
"Hey Dawnie." Willow called from the couch.  
  
"What'cha up to?" Dawn dropped her bag and walked into the room.  
  
"Enjoying the nice day and watching some TV. Do you think Buffy will mind that I opened the window?"  
  
"Nah." Dawn looked at the screen and brightened up. "Powerpuff Girls! Cool." And plopped down beside the reformed witch. "You know they have a movie coming out, don't you."  
  
"I heard about that. Do you want to go?"  
  
"Only if you promise we don't have to stop by any creepy magic crack houses."  
  
Willow put her hand up. "I can definitely promise you that. Even if I did have an urge to go visit a place like that again, it wouldn't do any good, now that my powers are gone. By the way, what are you doing home already? I thought you were going to study at the Magic Box until Buffy got done with her errand."  
  
"I was there, trying to study. Really, I was! But Anya kept humming and singing. It was hard to concentrate."  
  
"She has been pretty chipper lately, hasn't she? Do you think it's because Xander is being nice?"  
  
Dawn shrugged. "Who knows?" She noticed a catalogue on the coffee table. "Hey, Sunnydale U. Are you going back?"  
  
Willow picked up the booklet with a look of uncertainty on her face. "I'd like to finish. I've got a meeting with a school counselor today. I'm hoping they will let me start late this semester." She dropped the book. "It won't be the same, going there without Tara."  
  
"I know. I miss her too." The two girls hugged, and then Dawn pulled back. "Hey, since you're not busy doing anything yet, would you like to help with our Halloween dance at school? I'm in charge of decorations, and I'm clueless."  
  
"Sure, I'll help out. Maybe Xander can do some stuff too, now that the store is done." Willow smiled. "It will be like old times, with the gang all doing something together."  
  
Buffy walked in. "All the gang doing what together?"  
  
"The Sunnydale Halloween party." Dawn said.  
  
"Hey, I'm already signed on!"  
  
"Great." Dawn enthused. "What will you be doing?"  
  
"Chaperoning. with William." She chirped happily.  
  
"Cool!"  
  
Willow looked at her uncertainly. "Buffy, are you two. dating?"  
  
Buffy plopped down beside her on the couch. "Not really. We're just sort of hanging out right now. You know, slaying and talking and research. Oh, and a little minor kissage."  
  
"What?"  
  
"It didn't look too minor the other night." Dawn chimed in.  
  
"Well, it was." She turned to Willow. "And don't freak. We're taking it slow. Besides, we kind of have to keep up a show for the school kids." Willow gave her a confused look, so she continued. "I told them he was my boyfriend to explain why we were hanging around together so much. We can't have them finding out about the whole slayer/vampire thing."  
  
"Uh. Ok. Right. Sure." Willow still had some reservations.  
  
Buffy noticed the TV show. "You're watching the Powerpuff Girls?" She wrinkled her nose. "Ugh. Their big eyes just freak me out. And how lame is that crappy animation?"  
  
***** The large black bird flew across town, through the cemetery, and along the river until it came to the cave opening. It flew inside and landed on Doc's shoulder.  
  
"Ah, my little friend. What bits of news might you have for me?"  
  
The bird squawked and cawed.  
  
"They will all be together for Halloween? That's perfect. And what of the witch?"  
  
Again the bird voiced its observations.  
  
"Powerless, you say? Well that is very good news. That means there will be nothing standing in my way. Thank you. There is some fresh meat for you down by the river. Hurry, there might not be much left if you tarry."  
  
The bird flew out into the sunlight, leaving the man alone in his blanket of darkness. 


	20. Chapter 19

Part 19  
  
Buffy glanced around her with a feeling of dread. She knew this place. The wind whipped through her hair, blowing the long strands across her face. The sky was dark all around her. She looked down and saw she was standing on the crudely built metal platform. She was alone. She turned to look around her, and saw the demon-man behind her, holding a knife that was covered with blood.  
  
"Where is she?" Buffy asked.  
  
"She will be here soon, and this time I will get it right." He said pleasantly, with a mild smile.  
  
"Is that her blood?"  
  
He held the knife up between them and the smile left his face. His eyes turned black and blinked strangely. "This blood is tainted. That will change too." He smiled evilly. "This time we will all receive our just reward."  
  
Buffy sat up with a gasp. She was in her room, alone.  
  
*****  
  
Giles woke to the blare of the alarm clock. He reached his arm over to the bedside table to smack the button, but hit only bare wood. Where was that dratted radio? He opened his blurred eyes and quickly realized he was not in his apartment. A slender arm reached across his bare chest and the annoying buzzing noise stopped. Soft hair tickled his chest and chin as Anya laid her head down on his shoulder and stroked his arm with her hand.  
  
"You stayed." She smiled into his chest. "You've always gone home before."  
  
"Um. Yes, I was rather. worn out last night."  
  
"Hmm. Me too." She lifted her head to kiss him softly. "This is nice."  
  
Giles couldn't argue with that statement, so he told his internal schoolmaster to sod off. Being late for work once in a blue moon was not going to cause the world to end, even if that world was on the Hellmouth. He contented himself with returning her kiss. After a while she lifted her head and looked at him warmly.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"You're very handsome in the morning. You don't look rumply at all." She frowned slightly. "As a matter of fact, you never look rumply. Why is that?"  
  
She never failed to amuse him. Conversations with her tended to go in unexpected and uncharted directions. "Proper application of starch?" He speculated.  
  
She made a face. "Ew, starch."  
  
"What's wrong with starch?"  
  
"It just made me think of a wish I once granted a woman from Michigan. She had four children and her husband insisted that she starch all of his shirts and iron them every morning. Finally one day he told her he was leaving her for his secretary, whom he was flying to Hawaii for a vacation. She summoned me and wished that fifty cans of the stuff be shoved up his."  
  
"Enough!" Giles held his hand up. "I can't bear to think about it."  
  
"It was pretty gruesome. In some ways it was even worse than the exploding head."  
  
"Anya," he shook his head, "I know that you have learned to have more compassion for people. How can you continue to be a vengeance demon?"  
  
"I can't stop."  
  
"Surely you can call D'Hoffryn and get him to release you."  
  
Anya sat up, pulling the sheet up to cover herself. "I can't."  
  
"Are you afraid of what he will do."  
  
She shook her head. "No! I just..."  
  
"I'm afraid I don't understand." Now he sat up, anger showing in the set of his jaw. "Perhaps the problem is that you don't want to."  
  
"Giles, please... I can't tell you anything and I can't do anything to get out from under this."  
  
He turned to sit on the edge of the bed and found his trousers. "Yet you somehow managed before." He pulled the pants on angrily. "I would think that you would trust me by now to be able to help you out in supernatural matters."  
  
She just sat and looked at him helplessly. "Giles, please don't go. Don't leave me when you're angry like this."  
  
He sighed and sat on the bed beside her. "I am angry, but I'm not leaving you. I need to go home for some fresh clothes, and I will see you later at the store." He finished buttoning his shirt, then put him arm around her and kissed her forehead. "Perhaps we can discuss this then."  
  
After he left, Anya reached down to sadly finger the pendant hanging around her neck.  
  
*****  
  
Willow and Buffy walked into The Magic Box together to find Anya alone, cleaning furiously. "Hi, Anya." Buffy called. "The shop's hasn't even been open a week. I didn't think you were due for a spring cleaning yet."  
  
Anya continued dusting her sparkling shelves. "I find this activity to be therapeutic when I'm experiencing anger or frustration."  
  
"Did you get into a fight with Xander?" Willow asked.  
  
"No Willow. We're still getting along just fine. Sorry to disappoint you."  
  
"I didn't mean..."  
  
"I'm really not even upset with a man in this instance, even though one brought this on." She laid down her dust rag and picked up a broom to attack her baseboards. "How is it that they can make you think and want things that you didn't even know you thought you needed?"  
  
Buffy and Willow exchanged confused glances. Buffy cleared her throat. "Anya, if you didn't mind, we thought we might see if we could do some studying to see what these new monsters have in common. Now that Willow's back we may be able to come up with something..."  
  
"More concrete." Giles voice reached them from the doorway. He moved down to join the girls. "I was having similar thoughts myself."  
  
"Well, good luck with that." Anya called over. "My reference library is severely limited, ever since Willow sucked out all the words. I'm still waiting for replacements."  
  
Willow was amazed. "Anya, are you saying that the words never went back into the books?"  
  
Giles cleared his throat. "Apparently they are still a part of you."  
  
"Wow, Will." Buffy gave her an admiring look. "You're a walking magic reference library."  
  
"Exactly." Giles pointed out. "So why don't we sit down and see what we can find out."  
  
"O... Okay." Willow looked apprehensive, but sat down with Buffy and Giles. Anya continued to clean.  
  
"Anya, I'm sure you could contribute to this as well." Giles invited her to join them.  
  
"I'm agitated Giles, and I doubt that sitting down next to you right now is going to help with that."  
  
"Very well. Just continue with whatever it is that you're doing."  
  
"Fine, I will."  
  
"Fine."  
  
Again, Willow and Buffy exchanged a look. "OK." Willow began, "What have we got?"  
  
Buffy and Giles outlined what they knew about Doc and his powers, plus the Ghora Demon, the dragon, the Leviathan, and the gangs of Fyarl demons and vampires. Finally Buffy noted the sudden drop in demonic activity.  
  
"This worries me." Giles noted.  
  
"Yes." Willow agreed. "It's like the calm before the storm."  
  
"And there's one other thing." Buffy added. "I had a dream last night." She immediately had their attention, and proceeded to describe the dream in as much detail as she could.  
  
"This time..." Giles mused. "He repeated that phrase 'This time'."  
  
"I think he's going to try to re-open the hell dimension." Buffy stated. Everybody nodded. "And he's going to use Dawn again. He tried to take her with the Fyarl demons, then he sent the vampires to try and kill William and me. He was probably trying to get us out of the way so that he could try to take her again."  
  
Giles frowned. "There is a problem with the theory." He lifted his head and looked around the table. "The timing of the event was crucial. Remember, we were trying to delay Glory, knowing that if we were successful she would miss her chance."  
  
Willow nodded. "That's right. We did stop Glory, but we didn't know about Doc."  
  
"If he's a time traveler, couldn't he just go back to change things?" Buffy speculated.  
  
"No Buffy." Willow's voice was certain. "He can go back and change some of the things he did himself, but he can't change what anybody else did. You were still there to jump in Dawn's place, and Glory was still stopped. He can't be in two places at one time."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"It's against the physical laws. If you have the exact same entity present in two forms at the same time..."  
  
"They cease to exist." Giles finished.  
  
"Then how can he travel through time without that happening to him?" She turned to Anya. "Do you know?"  
  
"Yes." Anya replied. "A time wizard just pops back into the same space that he was in before. It's a special power they have. If he goes back in time there isn't suddenly two of him, just the one. But he keeps all the memories."  
  
"I see." Buffy said. "Then he can't pop back and show up at a different place from where he was. He would be on the platform and I would still throw him off."  
  
"Exactly." Anya nodded. "And we still have the question as to how he was able to teleport those other things through time." Anya walked over to the table and sat beside Giles.  
  
"You're sure he couldn't manage it?" Giles questioned. "You also said that Willow wouldn't be able to teleport, but she eventually did."  
  
"Only after I had absorbed enough magical energy." Willow told them. "Could he have boosted his powers in the same way?  
  
Anya shrugged. "Maybe, but where would he have gotten that much power? Those are very large, nasty monsters."  
  
"Maybe it was from me." Willow said quietly. "When I went all uber-witch last spring I was throwing magic around like confetti. I had to recharge a few times. He could have drained some off of me."  
  
"Yes, Willow." Giles leaned forward. "It was after that happened that the creatures started appearing. Then perhaps at some point he went back and planted the Ghora using a power boost from Glory, hoping to kill Spike before the big event."  
  
"Why would he want to kill Spike?" Buffy asked. "Spike failed to stop him, remember? Why would he try to go to so much trouble to get him out of the way?"  
  
"I don't know, but there must be something we're missing."  
  
"And why does he want Dawn?" Buffy wanted to know.  
  
"What do you mean?" Willow asked. "She's the Key."  
  
"But she isn't now." Giles added. "And if he travels back to that night when Buffy died, Dawn is already there."  
  
"So now we're back at square one." Buffy mumbled. "What is he doing?"  
  
"What is his reward?" Anya asked. They turned to look at her. "He said 'we will receive our just rewards'. If we find out what his reward is, then maybe we can figure out what he wants to do to get it."  
  
Buffy considered this for a moment. "So maybe he had his own selfish purposes for opening the dimensions that went beyond what Glory wanted."  
  
"He can't travel across dimensions." Anya informed them. Again everybody turned to stare at her. "I can, but he can't." She announced proudly. "If he wanted to reach a certain dimension for some reason, he would need to use a rift to enter it."  
  
"Then it stands to reason," Giles added, "that once in, he would need a method to get back out."  
  
Buffy straightened, excited. "That's it. He's not just trying to open the hell dimensions. Maybe Glory brought him here. We stopped her and now he's stuck, so he's trying to get home!"  
  
"That takes care of the what and the why." Anya stated. "Now we just have to figure out the how." 


	21. Chapter 20

Part 20  
  
Buffy arrived at the door of William's apartment. It was Saturday, and they had a date to meet Willow and Xander to pick out costumes for the Halloween dance on Thursday. This was the first time Buffy had been here and she felt strangely nervous. In older times she would have just barged in on him unannounced. Somehow busting through the door seemed inappropriate now. She raised her knuckles to knock, but the door opened before she could make contact.  
  
"Hi." She said.  
  
"Come in." He stood aside to let her pass. "You're early." He was wearing a pair of jeans. His hair was damp and he had a towel draped around his neck.  
  
"I wasn't sure if I had the right place. I never pictured you in an apartment." She looked around. His place was very nice. The furnishings were modern, but comfortable looking. One entire wall was nothing but shelves that were filled with books.  
  
"Just give me a minute to finish getting ready." He turned to walk toward what she assumed was his bedroom. "Make yourself comfortable. I'd tell you to get something out of the fridge, but I don't think what I have would suit your palate."  
  
"That's OK." She called to him. "I'm fine." But he was gone behind a closed door. She wandered over to the shelves, curious about his reading habits. He had quite an eclectic collection, with everything from classics to thrillers. They were in alphabetical order by author. She smiled. Her own books were strewn around her house. She knew there were at least three paperbacks under her bed and the only hardcover books she owned were from the year and a half she attended Sunnydale U. She looked at some of the author's names: Chekov, Clancy, Crichton, and several others she was unfamiliar with.  
  
He re-entered the room and stepped up behind her. "I don't even know you." She said.  
  
"You know some parts of me."  
  
She ran her hand over the spines of the books. "I don't know this part. It's new."  
  
"No it's not. I just don't try to hide it anymore."  
  
She moved down the shelves and looked at some more of the books. "I don't see any Nietzsche."  
  
"That philosophical clap trap was always Angel's bag. It bores me to tears."  
  
"I never really understood it myself." She admitted, turning to face him.  
  
"You would. You just have to wade through the language."  
  
"Maybe sometime you could show me."  
  
"Maybe..." He studied her quietly for a moment, then stepped back. "But for now, we have more important fish to fry. Namely, costumes." He gestured toward the door. "After you."  
  
She glanced at him coyly as she passed. "You're not going to be able to avoid me forever, you know."  
  
"I wouldn't call it avoiding." He leaned over to open the door for her. "I call it looking out for your best interests."  
  
She stopped short at that, then turned to glare at him. "Who are you to decide what's best for me?"  
  
He raised his hands, as if to ward off her anger. "I just meant."  
  
"It's not like I'm a starry eyed teenager anymore!" She continued, as if he hadn't spoken. "And it's not like I haven't learned from my mistakes. Believe me, I have learned lifetimes worth of lessons from my past screw- ups."  
  
"Buffy, I just don't think that you and I."  
  
"The last vampire I was involved with killed some of my friends, after he fell in love with me. And do you know what?" She barely stopped for breath. "I forgave him. God help me, I just let it slide."  
  
"Well, you did stab him with."  
  
"Then I let him convince me that we had no future. Now you tell me, what kind of a future do I have anyway? Huh? I could go out there and die any day. Hell, I'm even getting good at it! So what does it matter that I'll get old and that you won't? Who's to say I'll get the chance to get old?"  
  
"You don't have to."  
  
"And you want me to have normal? I've tried that out. I don't know why I ever thought that 'normal' would work for me. Normal guys get killed following me around. Normal guys have normal jobs and want normal wives to give them normal kids. Now look at me. Do I seem remotely normal to you?" She poked him in the chest. "What makes you think I would ever be happy with that? Everyone goes around saying."  
  
He grasped her by her shoulders and kissed her. All of the tension magically drained out of her body. His hands moved up to hold her head gently as they explored each other's mouths and faces, rediscovering the taste and feel of one another. Her arms crept around his waist and up his back as she pressed herself closer to him. Finally, reluctantly, he dropped his hands and stepped back. He looked at her warily, as if expecting her to hit him in the nose or kick him. Instead, she just gazed at him softly.  
  
"Why did you do that?" She asked.  
  
"Had to shut you up somehow." He cocked his head toward the still-open doorway. "We've got places to go, people to see."  
  
"That's right." She said. "I forgot." She stepped into the hall.  
  
"Buffy." He stopped her. "You're right, you're not a normal girl. You're special."  
  
He stepped into the hall to join her, pulling the door shut behind them. They walked to the elevator in companionable silence.  
  
*****  
  
Much later Buffy, William, Xander and Willow exited Mr. Kitten's Kostumes. Xander carried one bag and William held two. Neither bag was his. "I don't understand how we can spend three bloody hours shopping around for these ridiculous get-ups, and I still couldn't find anything!"  
  
Willow patted him on the back. "You were just being too picky."  
  
"Picky? Me?!"  
  
"You got to admit, William, that you did turn your nose up at everything they showed you." Xander offered.  
  
"Everything they showed me had bleedin' tights! There's got to be a shop around here that has something that isn't all nancy-boy."  
  
"We went to all four costume shops in Sunnydale." Buffy reminded him. "Xander found his the first place we went."  
  
"Well he doesn't have to wear pantyhose now, does he?"  
  
Xander clapped an arm around William's shoulders. "Just got lucky with this one." Xander lifted his bag. "I even get a cool little attachment."  
  
"I know you don't want to, but you really might just have to do the vampire thing." Buffy told him. "You could wear leather and then just 'Grrr'."  
  
"No thank you. The fact that I spent over a century terrorizing people is not something I want to parade around in front of my students."  
  
Buffy threw her hands up. "You're impossible!"  
  
"Nothing new there." Willow said dryly. William glared at her. Buffy tried to hide her own smirk.  
  
"I don't really take to this shopping business, anyway." William complained. "Back in my day people came by, you told them what you wanted, they took your measurements, and brought everything back to you a few weeks later. I can't believe that humans these days enjoy all this tramping around and scavenging."  
  
"Let me clue you in on that buddy." Xander leaned toward him. "This is not a 'human thing'. This is a 'woman thing'. And if you think these two are bad, you should see Anya in action."  
  
Tension filled the group at his words, and an uncomfortable silence followed. "Way to go Alexander Harris." Xander muttered. "Once again with the mouth opening and foot inserting."  
  
"Look," William began. "I'm really, really sorry about that, and."  
  
"Stop it right there." Xander interrupted. "We all screwed up royally last year, and we had the benefit of souls. What happened at The Magic Box was not entirely your fault, or Anya's. I have to take a lot of the blame for hurting her."  
  
"Besides," Willow piped in. "Now you're back and you're all different and everything, and you've paid for our costumes. If I can get away with trying to end the world, we can forgive you for."  
  
"We don't have to come right out and say it, do we?" Buffy asked. She looped her hand through William's bent arm. "I can think of lots better things to talk about, like the weather, or what we want for lunch. Is anyone else starved, because I could eat a."  
  
"Holy cow." Xander said.  
  
"That's a little more than what I had in mind." Buffy told him.  
  
"No, I mean that." Xander pointed up. There was a huge creature flying overhead. Its wings made a sharp snapping sound as they flapped against the wind.  
  
"And that would be Giles' dragon, I suppose." Buffy observed.  
  
"Wow." Willow said. "That's really big."  
  
"I've seen that somewhere before." Xander wrinkled his forehead in concentration. "Where, where.?"  
  
"I think I'd remember that." Buffy said, as she watched the beast circle around the town.  
  
"I've got it!" Xander snapped his fingers. "It was the night you died."  
  
"Which time?"  
  
"On the platform, before you jumped." Xander looked at her. "Don't you remember the things that came through the opening?"  
  
"I was a little preoccupied."  
  
"Me too." Willow said.  
  
"I think my head was buried in bricks." William added.  
  
"Well creatures came through the rift from some of the other dimensions before Buffy jumped and closed the hole." He pointed at the dragon, which had turned and was flying away from the town. "That was one of them."  
  
"And now he's back." William said.  
  
Buffy sighed. "That can't be good." 


	22. Chapter 21

Part 21  
  
"Willow, are you ready?" Buffy called up the stairs.  
  
"It will just be another minute." She yelled. "This dressing up stuff takes forever when you can't use magic."  
  
"Xander and William will be here any minute."  
  
"I know, I know. Hurrying now!"  
  
Buffy stepped to a mirror hanging in the hallway to adjust her hair. It was parted in the middle, and she wore two french braids, one on each side. She pulled down on the bodice of her blue dress and fluffed her apron. She bent down to pick up the round basket that held a checkered cloth and a little toy dog. She couldn't wait to see what the others looked like. She caught a movement on the stairs out of the corner of her eye, and turned to watch a pair of green legs descend.  
  
"Oh Willow, that looks great!"  
  
Willow made a face. "Do you think I look like Kermit?"  
  
"No way. You are Peter Pan all the way."  
  
Willow stepped up to the same mirror that Buffy had just vacated. She wrinkled her nose at her reflection. "I'm not sure it's a good thing that a twenty-one year old woman can pass for a twelve year old boy."  
  
"Relax!" Buffy laughed at Willow's expression. "You look adorable. Green is your color."  
  
They both turned at the sound of a brief rap on the door, before it opened to reveal Captain Hook. "Wow, Xander, you look all mean and piratey!" Willow rushed over to admire him. "I like you with the big hair!"  
  
"Hardy har, ye mateys." Xander said as he raised his hook into the air.  
  
"I don't think Captain Hook talked like that." Buffy said.  
  
"I know." Xander smiled. "But I couldn't resist. Are we ready?"  
  
"No." Buffy said. "Where's William?"  
  
"He's hiding out on the porch." Xander gestured outside with his thumb. " I don't think he's real thrilled with what Willow found for him on the Internet."  
  
"Aw, come on!" Willow protested. "I thought he'd look cute. And he doesn't have to wear tights."  
  
Xander lowered his voice. "No, but he keeps complaining about how much it itches. I never knew vampires could be such wimps."  
  
"I heard that." An offended British accent rang from the porch.  
  
"Come on in, William. We want to see you!" Buffy called out.  
  
William stepped into the doorway, glowering. His nose was painted with a bright red triangle and straw stuck out from his floppy hat in all directions. There was also straw protruding from the neck, arms, and legs of the baggy tan costume. "I feel like a bleedin' idiot." He grumbled.  
  
"You didn't want to look menacing." Buffy reminded him.  
  
"Didn't want to look like a burlap sack either, now did I?"  
  
"It's too bad you can't see your reflection." Willow told him. "This is just priceless. Hey!" She brightened at her thought. "Maybe we could take a picture."  
  
"Over my dead body!"  
  
Buffy giggled. "I thought that was the whole problem." She bit her lip at his glare, and tried her best to look contrite. "Oh, come on." She cajoled. "It's Halloween, and we're supposed to look dumb. Just look at me!" She held up her basket, and her eyes twinkled. "If you ask nicely, I'll let you pet my puppy."  
  
"Slayer."  
  
Xander interrupted. "On that note, I say it's time to leave." Laughing and chatting happily, they all left the house.  
  
*****  
  
Doc stood calmly before the motley assembly of demons, monsters and unsavory human dregs of society. His hands were laced behind his back and his tail swished leisurely from side to side. His plan was about to come to fruition and he savored this taste of power. It was just a glimmer of what awaited him.  
  
"Finally we are at the threshold of our new day. You all know what you need to do. Soon I will release you to complete your appointed tasks. If you bring me what I need, we will see our reward this night."  
  
One of the demons roared out a question.  
  
Doc listened calmly and raised his hands. "Yes, yes. You can do what you like with the others. They are not my concern. I just want the three, preferably unharmed. They must be brought to me alive. Is this understood?"  
  
The group muttered and snarled in assent.  
  
"Very well. I thank you all for your loyal efforts. You may go now."  
  
*****  
  
The school gymnasium was festooned with orange and black banners, huge cotton spider webs, plastic jack-o-lanterns, a cauldron boiling with dry ice and inflated horror movie icons. Dawn was just setting Frankenstein in place by the doorway when Buffy and the gang arrived.  
  
"What do you think?" Dawn rushed over to them. "Janice and I have been working on this all afternoon." She looked them over. "You guys look so cute! Will. I mean Mr. Browning, your costume is hysterical."  
  
"Great." His tone was dry.  
  
"Hey, Dawnie, you guys did a lot of work after I left." Willow noticed.  
  
Dawn leaned in to whisper to her. "I tried to talk the other girls into not putting up the witch. I know how much you hate the black hat and warty nose thing." She turned to William. "And you might want to avoid the Dracula corner over there."  
  
"Political correctness for the supernatural set." Xander joked.  
  
"I'm going to go put my costume on now. I'm so excited, and I'm so glad you're all here!" Dawn squealed and hurried out the door.  
  
William's eyes searched around the room, intrigued. "So this is how the human teeny-boppers do up a soiree these days." He commented.  
  
"Is it much different from when you were young?" Buffy turned her braided head his way.  
  
"When I was young." His eyes took on a far-away look. "When I was young these sorts of things weren't open to the general population. We received engraved invitations and everything was stiff and formal. You had to be somebody to even be invited, and even then there was no certainty you would be accepted." His face grew sad. "I attended a party the night Dru turned me."  
  
"You never told me that." Buffy said. "Did you meet Drusilla at the party?"  
  
"No. It was after I left." He shook himself out of his reverie and glanced down at Buffy. "That's a tale best left for another time."  
  
Students began coming in through the doorways, elevating the noise level in the room. Somewhere, somebody turned on a sound system and "Monster Mash" began playing. "Come on!" Buffy yelled over the music and tugged on his sleeve. "We're supposed to be over by the punch table, right?"  
  
*****  
  
An hour later the party was in full swing. Everybody seemed to be having a good time. All around the gymnasium were groups of students talking, eating, and dancing. Some were playing games at booths while others just drifted around the room. Someone in a very convincing ogre costume brushed past Buffy. "Wow!" She nudged William. "I wonder where that kid found that outfit. We sure didn't see anything like that on Saturday."  
  
He followed her gaze and frowned. "You're right. Actually, there are several of these get-ups that look."  
  
"Hey Buffy!" She turned to see Dawn, looking beautiful as Sleeping Beauty.  
  
"Are you having fun?" Buffy asked her sister.  
  
"Oh yeah. It's going great." Dawn glowered and leaned in. "Did you see Chelsea? She's wearing the same freaking outfit!"  
  
"With the wig and everything?"  
  
"Oh no," Dawn clarified. "Chelsea has her own blond hair. She said that my wig looked like someone draped a Cocker Spaniel pelt on my head."  
  
"She just jealous because you're prettier than her."  
  
"Yeah, right."  
  
The ogre walked by again. "Hey Dawn," Buffy asked. "Who is that guy?"  
  
Dawn shrugged. "Beats me. Who can tell with that great mask?"  
  
William was getting that disturbed look again as he searched around the room. "Does it seem like this room has gotten a lot more crowded?"  
  
"You know, you're right." Buffy agreed. "Where are all these kids coming from?"  
  
Dawn crossed her arms. "Claytonville!" She spat out. "Those geeks said they were going to crash. I'll be they even T.P.'d the outside."  
  
Willow bumped up against Buffy's back. "Hey, excuse you!" She yelled over her shoulder at a Hell's Angel wannabe. She turned her attention to Buffy. "Some of these kids are just." She was jostled again. "Rude!"  
  
Xander moved up behind her. "Maybe you could sprinkle them with fairy dust and feed them to the crocodile." Everybody stared at him blankly. "Hey William, how's it going with the punch over there?"  
  
William lifted the plastic ladle in salute.  
  
"That's good." Xander joked. "Gotta make sure that nobody spikes it!" He nudged Willow. "Get it? 'Spike' the punch?" Willow stifled a groan and Buffy rolled her eyes. "Wow, are you ever a tough crowd tonight!"  
  
"Hey, Xander." Buffy's tone was serious. "Have you noticed that some of these students don't seem to be very studenty?"  
  
"They're partycrashers!" Dawn huffed.  
  
"You know, you're right." Xander took notice. He scanned the room. "Now that you mention it, most of these guys are pretty smelly."  
  
"Yes." Buffy frowned. "And my Spidey-sense is on high alert."  
  
"You're just noticing that now, Slayer?" William questioned her, his eyebrow arched under the straw sticking out of his hat.  
  
"I've been standing by you all evening!" Buffy protested defensively. "Close proximity to a vampire tends to camouflage the ones who aren't so near. Especially being close to an irritating."  
  
"And here, I thought we were getting along famously."  
  
"There seems to be a time limit where you're concerned."  
  
"Hey!" Willow piped in. "Can we all focus here and think this through with a little more."  
  
"Harmony!" Xander exclaimed.  
  
"Exactly." Willow nodded.  
  
"No." Xander pointed to the doorway. "Isn't that Harmony?"  
  
They all turned to stare at the heavily made-up blond girl standing in the doorway. She had her hands on her hips and tossed her head disdainfully before looking slowly around the room. When her eyes lit on Buffy, Willow and Xander, she pushed her lips out in her version of a sneer and began to walk toward them, her hips swaying exaggeratedly from side to side. Halfway across the floor, she noticed that she had lost her entourage. She turned and stamped her foot on the floor, then gestured to them to follow her. Satisfied that she had proper back up, she continued to approach her arch- nemesis: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  
  
"So. We meet again!" Harmony turned a creamy shoulder to Buffy and squinted her eyes.  
  
"I see you haven't learned any new lines in your time away." Buffy told her drolly.  
  
"And I see you're still hanging out with your band of losers." Harmony looked at Xander and Willow. She wrinkled her forehead at Willow's costume. "What is that thing you've got on anyway, Willow? It's so cliché for a red- head to wear green!"  
  
"What are you doing here, Harmony?" Buffy's voice was all business.  
  
"Well, aren't you little miss high and mighty in you're little blue dress?" Harmony paused to snarl and show some fang. "The last time I saw you, you were busy stealing my boyfriend!"  
  
Buffy's voice rose in offense. "I was NOT stealing your boyfriend."  
  
"Ha! You were having a threesome with my Pooky-Bear and that skanky Droodzilla."  
  
"A threesome?!"  
  
Xander looked at William over the top of Buffy's head and mouthed "Pooky- Bear?" to him. William glowered back.  
  
"Yes. And don't try that big innocent act on me. I saw the chains and stuff!"  
  
"Harmony, you'd better shut up right now or I'll stake you on the spot."  
  
"I dare you to try." Harmony gestured over her shoulder with her thumb. "I have new minions, and they're smarter this time."  
  
"Which is why they're taking orders from you."  
  
"Exactly!" Harmony missed the sarcasm in Buffy's words. "You'd better watch your skinny little butt tonight Slayer. You're going down."  
  
"And who's going to take me out you idiot? You?" Buffy leaned over into Harmony's face. "The only reason I didn't kill you before was that you were so stupidly pathetic. I'm over that now."  
  
"I'm pathetic?" Harmony touched her chest with long red fingernails. "You can't even keep a man. Look at the dope you're with tonight!" She turned her eyes on William. "He's kind of short for your tastes, isn't he?"  
  
Dawn giggled. "That didn't used to bother you, Vampira."  
  
"Hey, you're the little sister, aren't you? Wow, you've really grown up." She paused and thought about Dawn's words. "What do you mean it didn't used to bother me?"  
  
"Bloody hell!" William groaned.  
  
Harmony's eyes widened. "Spikey? Is that you?"  
  
He sighed heavily. "Yes, Harm."  
  
"What has she done to you?"  
  
Buffy interrupted. "That's nothing compared to what I'll do to you if you don't get out of this school right now." Buffy reached down and snapped a leg off the table. William hurried to hold up the corner so that the punch didn't crash to the floor. "Leave Harmony, and I might let you live another ten minutes."  
  
"Fine, you scrawny little do-gooder. I'll go." She looked at William. "You are just so pathetic. I can't believe you chose her over me. She doesn't even have any boobs, and I know how much you always liked to."  
  
"Harmony!" William's voice rose.  
  
"OK. I'm leaving. But you haven't seen the last of me. You're all going to be so sorry you weren't a little bit nicer." She to leave.  
  
"Harmony." Buffy stopped her. "If I hear of even one student with a bite mark tonight, I'll kill you."  
  
"Ooh. Aren't you the tough one." Harmony stuck her tongue out at Buffy, then flounced out of the room, followed by her lackeys.  
  
"She was awfully brave, to just walk in here like that tonight." Willow observed.  
  
"I wonder what she really wanted." Xander commented.  
  
"She's totally sleazoid." Dawn opined.  
  
"I can't believe you used to date her." Buffy scowled at William.  
  
"And I can't believe you broke the sodding table!" William griped. "What am I supposed to do, stand here and hold this up all night?"  
  
Buffy handed the leg to Xander. "Here, you're a carpenter. Fix it."  
  
"With what?" Xander held up his hook. "I didn't exactly come equipped for emergency furniture repair."  
  
They were interrupted by screams from the doorway. A stream of vampires and other demons was pouring in, shoving students against the walls and onto the floor. Other creatures, already in the room, began grabbing teenagers and pulling them away.  
  
"Oh my god, Buffy!" Dawn was panicked. "What's happening?"  
  
"We've been waiting for something big." Buffy said grimly. "I'd say it's here." 


	23. Chapter 22

Part 22  
  
"Dawn, get out of here now!" She turned to William. "You take her and keep her safe."  
  
He let go of the table and everything crashed to the floor, drawing attention to their section of the room. It just emphasized the need for haste. "Come on Nibblet. We need to get you out of here." William grasped her arm and pulled her away.  
  
"Wait." She protested. "I don't want to leave Buffy!"  
  
"Big sis can take care of herself. You know that." He told her, then lifted her bodily to carry her toward the back of the room. "Where are the bloody doors out of here?"  
  
Dawn looked around. "They're all blocked! Put me down."  
  
"You're not getting away from me this time. I'm not letting you out of my sight."  
  
"Look!" Dawn pointed to a section of the room between the bleachers and the wall. "There's Janice and some of the others. We can't leave them in here!"  
  
"You're right." William acknowledged. He scanned the room, noting the hundreds of students whom he now felt responsible for. The escape routes all seemed to be blocked. He put Dawn down. "Give me your shoes, Li'l Bit, then go join your friends. I'm going to try to get you all out of here."  
  
Dawn removed her shoes and handed the high-heeled pumps to William. She turned immediately and ran to join the group of girls cowering nearby. William took the first shoe and aimed at the small red fire alarm box mounted on the wall. He missed it by several inches. He took the second shoe and aimed again. Bingo! The clang of the alarm filled the room and the school, causing a momentary distraction. Demons dropped victims grabbed their ears at the sudden earsplitting noise. William ran to the side of the room where the bleachers were folded below the bank of windows. He shooed the cowering students out of the way, grabbing on to a few of the larger boys nearby. "Drag these things out from the wall!" He ordered them.  
  
He judged the distance from the ground to the top riser, then jumped, catching it with his fingertips. The gloves he wore made it hard to hang on, but he needed them. He managed to swing his leg up on top of the riser just before the entire set began to move out from the wall. He quickly punched his covered fists and feet through the windows, taking time to break off the jagged pieces of glass that remained. "Come on!" He shouted to Dawn and her friends. "Get everybody you can and get out of here!"  
  
The students began streaming up the bleachers. He grabbed two of the large boys who had helped to pull them out. "You, out first. It's a long drop, and you'll need to stay under the windows to catch the others." The boys did as ordered, and two-by-two the teens made their exits. William glanced over his shoulder to see how Buffy was faring.  
  
Buffy had managed to break off the other three legs of the table and had armed Xander and Willow with the makeshift stakes. She quickly lost count of the numbers of vamps she dusted, but there were so many that they just kept coming. The stakes would be small protection against the myriad of demons flooding the room. Willow and Xander were losing ground, but fighting valiantly anyway. Xander was using his hook and his plastic sword to good avail, but Willow was nearly defenseless.  
  
"Xander, stop!" Buffy screamed at him as he prepared to run his stake into the chest of an attacker lying on the floor. "That's a human!"  
  
Xander pulled back and contented himself with kicking the guy in the stomach.  
  
Buffy looked back and saw the escape route that William had fashioned. "Get Willow out of here! Go to the Magic Box and tell Giles what's happened."  
  
Xander staked the vampire preparing to bite Willow, then reached for her hand. "Come on Peter Pan. It's time to fly!"  
  
"But Buffy." She began to protest.  
  
"We can't help now. Come on!"  
  
The line of demons made their way to where the kids were making their way out of the room. Soon the wooden bleachers were on fire, blocking the only means of escape. William helped Willow and Xander out through the window, then jumped to the floor just in time to save himself from incineration. His fury fueled his strength as he quickly killed three nearby demons. The sprinkler system kicked in as the smoke detectors picked up on the fire. The floor became slick with water and the crepe paper decorations hung in tatters. The bleachers were now completely engulfed in flames, and the amount of water falling from the ceiling had little impact on the raging fire.  
  
William made his way to Buffy's side. He began to yell for her to watch out for the huge Chirago demon that was about to throw its six-hundred odd pounds on her, but instead began to twitch.  
  
"What's with him?" Buffy asked William.  
  
"Big and smelly things," he sneered. "They hate the water."  
  
Soon the Chirago was sneezing uncontrollably and it began to wail. Slipping and sliding across the floor, it fled the room.  
  
"Big weenie." Buffy observed. She threw William a stake. "Did Dawn make it out?" she asked him as she continued to fight.  
  
"Yeah. She's safe with your Scooby friends." He told her as he dusted a vampire.  
  
"We can't fight them all." She kicked a demon in the neck, satisfied at the loud snap she heard.  
  
"I know." He punched a track-marked junkie in the gut and followed it up with a blow to the nose. The man fell to the floor clutching both his stomach and his face.  
  
"How did you do that?" Buffy asked in surprise.  
  
"Chip doesn't work anymore."  
  
"NOW you think to tell me that?"  
  
"Subject never came up." He shrugged, then turned to take out another junkie. They were an easy group to defeat. Looking at the bloodied faces of their fallen comrades, they turned tail and ran. "Pathetic lot."  
  
"Looks like they didn't need the extra help anyway." Buffy observed calmly.  
  
William looked around at her words. They were completely surrounded by huge, hideous demons. Fyarls and M'Fashniks and Chaos demons were all closing in on them. "I've always hated those bleedin' Chaos demons." He told Buffy.  
  
"Ugh. Slimy!" She said.  
  
"That's my girl."  
  
*****  
  
The door of the Magic Box burst open, and Xander, Willow, and Dawn ran through. "Anya!" Xander called. "Anya, are you here?"  
  
"Down here." She called from the basement steps. "I'll be right up."  
  
"Hurry!" Willow implored.  
  
"What is it?" Anya carried a jar that looked like deep fried beetles.  
  
Xander tried to catch his breath. "Something big just went down at the high school. We need Giles."  
  
"He's up in the loft, cataloguing the new books we just got in today." She turned and yelled up the stairs. "Giles!"  
  
He moved to the railing and peered down at the group. "Were those your lyrical tones, my dear?"  
  
"Yes." Anya said. "We need you down here. Something's wrong."  
  
Giles deposited a stack of large tomes on a research table and walked down. "What seems to be the problem?"  
  
"Demons!" Willow gasped. "Lots of them. They took the school hostage."  
  
"Where's Buffy?"  
  
"She's still inside, with William." Dawn's lower lip trembled. "They're trapped in there with all those." She broke off.  
  
"Oh dear." Giles removed his glasses.  
  
"I can help." Anya said. Giles turned to look at her questioningly. "There's bound to be a bunch of scared children. I'll get Hallie to go with me. They'll be wanting to go home."  
  
Giles nodded to her and she disappeared.  
  
"Now what?" Xander asked.  
  
"I don't know." Giles said. "We've got to think of something." 


	24. Chapter 23

Part 23  
  
Buffy and William were tightly bound and being carried aloft by the demons that had apprehended them. Buffy's mouth was gagged and the ropes that bound her hands and feet had been magiked. She couldn't break them or even work them loose. She assumed that William was in the same predicament.  
  
William had given up struggling with his bonds. Doc had planned his attack well, but had still managed to make at least one mistake. Buffy wasn't the only one who hadn't been aware that the chip was non-functional. The little lizard man had sent humans to capture him. Humans! Spike spared a split second to thank the Powers for having the foresight to take care of that particular problem. Still, he had no clue about what was going to happen now. If he lifted his head enough, he could see Buffy still wriggling and squirming. She was a fighter to the end, that one. It was no wonder she'd lasted so long as a Slayer. He'd been a stupid prat to even believe he could take her on all those years ago. Together they would figure out a way out of this mess. He had faith in her.  
  
The rabble carrying them was slowing down. William glanced over to see where they were. Of course Doc would want them brought here. He'd known somewhere inside himself this that had been the destination all along. The wreckage from the old metal tower was still strewn all over the ground. He looked at Buffy to see if she had noticed. Her widened eyes told him that she had.  
  
*****  
  
Giles sat at the table with Willow and Xander. Dawn was standing by the door looking outside while she sipped a cup of hot chocolate that Willow had made for her. Giles rubbed his forehead. "I'm really quite. flustered about all this. I thought that whatever Doc was doing involved only demons. I never would have anticipated he would attack the school."  
  
"None of us did." Xander told him.  
  
"Let's go over this again," Willow said. "I just know that there's something we're missing."  
  
Xander snapped his fingers. "What about that dream Buffy had?"  
  
"Right," Giles thought for a moment. "We've already discussed his reward."  
  
"But what else did he say?" Willow asked.  
  
"There was talk about getting it right this time." Giles continued to fight down the panic he felt rising in his chest. He would do Buffy no good if he didn't keep his wits about him. "Let's go over exactly what went wrong the last time."  
  
"OK." Willow took a deep breath. "Doc went up on the platform to cut Dawn. I saw him up there and sent Spike up."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Xander said. "And Doc blew him off like a pesky mosquito."  
  
"Right," Willow said. "Then he cut Dawn and Buffy pushed him off, then closed up the fissure herself."  
  
"So we know that Buffy was his biggest obstacle." Giles replaced his glasses and shook his head in confusion. "But what was it that Buffy said about the knife?"  
  
"It was bloody," Dawn muttered, then turned to face them. "It was covered with blood and he told Buffy it was tainted."  
  
"Was it covered with your blood Dawn?"  
  
Dawn stopped and here eyes widened. "No! The blood was Spike's."  
  
*****  
  
Anya was exhausted. When she had reached the school gymnasium pandemonium reigned. There were terrified teenagers and teachers everywhere, but no sign of William or Buffy. She and Halfrek had their hands full granting the wishes of all the people who just wanted to be home, safe and sound. One particularly brilliant teacher had even wished that the fire would be gone. Hallie had taken care of that in quick fashion. Now, not quite an hour after the two vengeance demons had arrived on the scene, nearly everybody had been evacuated.  
  
"Hallie, have you seen any sign of them?"  
  
"No, Anyanka. They aren't here."  
  
"I need to go back an tell the others what's happening."  
  
"You go ahead. I can take care of what's left." Halfrek wrung water out of her curly dark hair. "I hope somebody wishes this water away!"  
  
"I know this isn't what our powers were meant to be used for." Anya looked at her friend gratefully. "Thank you for helping them."  
  
"It's all right." Halfrek told her. "Good grief, this is Halloween. I had nothing to do but my nails anyway."  
  
Anya waved goodbye, then vanished.  
  
*****  
  
Giles whipped off his glasses again. "Spike's blood? Are you quite sure?"  
  
"I was there, Giles," Dawn told him defensively. "I remember. He stabbed Spike in the back before he threw him off the tower."  
  
"And this was before he cut you?"  
  
Dawn nodded.  
  
"Tainted!" Willow exclaimed. "He. he said that the blood was tainted, but he would fix it this time."  
  
"Willow," Giles leaned toward the former witch. "Exactly what was to happen when the Key was used?"  
  
"All of the dimensional barriers would be broken."  
  
"And what happened when Dawn was cut with that knife?"  
  
"A big tear in the wall of."  
  
"A tear?" Giles looked around excitedly. "There was only a tear."  
  
"But it was huge!" Dawn told them. "And growing."  
  
Willow's eyes flashed in discovery. "But it was relatively small, considering we are discussing the breakdown of every dimensional boundary."  
  
"Spike's blood interfered with the process!" Giles pounded his fist on the table.  
  
Anya suddenly appeared in the room, exhausted and dripping wet. "They're not there!" she told them, then slumped to the ground as her legs gave way.  
  
Xander hurried over to help her up, but she turned to Giles' waiting arms. "I'll be all right." she assured him. "Just a little worn out."  
  
"Who's not there?" Willow asked.  
  
"Buffy and William. The demons took them and left everyone else there to burn to death."  
  
"Do you need to go back there?" Giles' voice was full of concern.  
  
Anya shook her head. "No. The fire is out and most of the people have been sent home. I don't think any humans died."  
  
"Not yet." Xander said.  
  
"Xander?" Dawn rushed over to him. "Do you think they're going to kill Buffy?"  
  
"I'm sorry Dawn. I shouldn't have said that. If Doc wanted her dead he would have killed her at the school."  
  
Giles helped Anya to a chair. "Can you sense where they are?"  
  
Anya shook her head mutely.  
  
"If Doc is going to go back in time to that night, he probably wants to be physically close to the place where it happened." Willow told them.  
  
"The tower?" Xander asked.  
  
"But why would he want to take them back with him?" Dawn demanded. "One Buffy was able to stop him, so why would he want two?"  
  
Willow touched her arm. "If Doc is successful in taking them back there, there won't be two Buffys or two Spikes."  
  
Giles nodded his agreement, "She's right. If present Buffy collides with past Buffy."  
  
"They will cancel each other out, Willow said grimly. "No William and no Buffy."  
  
"But he needs a power source, right?" Dawn begged Giles for confirmation.  
  
"Well, yes, he said. "It. it would have to be a quite large source if he wanted to. to fuel moving a group of any size - an enormous source if he is planning on taking an army of demons along."  
  
Willow frowned. "But there aren't any sources around that large. I know. I tried to drain everything available after Tara was killed, even." She stopped and looked at Dawn, her eyes wide. "Even Dawn!"  
  
"Me?" Dawn squeaked. "He wants to use me? Then why didn't they take me too?"  
  
Xander threw his hands up in the air. "There were so many kids running around, plus you were wearing that blond wig. Maybe they grabbed the wrong girl."  
  
"Oh no!" Dawn exclaimed. "Chelsea was dressed just like me."  
  
"How would he know?" Anya asked.  
  
Willow glared over at her impatiently. "Know what, Anya?"  
  
"How would Doc know what everyone was wearing? When you all busted in here, I barely recognized you myself, what with all the ratty wigs and gloppy makeup. He must have had a scout to tell him what people were wearing."  
  
Xander and Willow looked to each other as realization set in. "That . bimbo!" Willow sputtered. 


	25. Chapter 24

Part 24  
  
The demons were dancing around a bonfire as Buffy stood, tied to a post. Next to her was William, tied to another. Sometime during the battle he had lost his hat and most of his straw. His costume was wet and uncomfortable. Most of the makeup had washed off.  
  
Buffy could tell that one of the braids in her own hair had come loose and her apron was torn. Their eyes communicated their confusion to each other. Why were they here and why were they still alive? Buffy could see another post set into the ground across from where she stood, but there were too many scaly and slimy bodies moving back and forth to make out who was tied there. From the corner of her eye she saw William jerk his head up and to the side. She followed his gaze to the female vampire making her way across the wreckage that littered the ground.  
  
She stopped in front of Buffy. "Well, you aren't so mouthy now, are you Slayer?"  
  
"Mmmfffff!" Buffy answered her, snarling through her gag.  
  
"Sorry!" Harmony perked. "I just can't understand you with all those nasty, dirty rags in your mouth. You know, you're really a mess!" She stuck her tongue out at Buffy then sauntered over to William.  
  
"Oh, poor little Blondie-Bear. You're going to be so sorry you treated me bad." Harmony fluffed her hair and pushed her lips out in a fake pout. "I loved you, and that just wasn't good enough for you." She reached out and walked her red-tipped fingers up his chest before reaching out to tug on some of his sandy curls. "And do you see what's happened to you? You've gotten all skinny and your hair needs a touch-up."  
  
William turned his face away, dismissing her.  
  
"What?" She stomped her foot. "You still think you're too good for me?" She smirked evilly. Then maybe I should remind you of all the times you made me dress up like Buffy and pretend to stake you so you could get your rocks off!"  
  
William groaned and rolled his eyes upward.  
  
"Or about the time you came to me, begging me to let you stay because the government put that stupid chip in your head and you couldn't feed." She grabbed his face to make him look at her. "You weren't too good for me then!" She let go of him and walked backward a few paces, stumbling over an I-Beam lying on the pavement. "Oops!" she caught herself. "Well, I'm a liberated woman now, and I don't need a man around to know that I'm worth something."  
  
"Harmony," Doc's soft voice intoned beside her. "are you making my guests feel welcome?"  
  
"Yes, I am. Did I do a good job finding them for you?"  
  
"A very good job. Thank you. You will live as a queen in my dimension."  
  
Harmony smiled happily at his words, then turned to favor Buffy with a smug expression. "Looks like you stole the wrong boyfriend." She reached over to hold Doc's arm.  
  
He slid away from her and waved his index finger in the air. "You know my rules about touching."  
  
"Sorry, I forgot again," she simpered.  
  
"We need to move on with the transference. Will you watch the captives for me?"  
  
"Of course. anything!"  
  
He nodded his head, then turned to walk across toward the other pole. The gyrating horde parted to make way for him and Buffy saw the girl tied there. Her stomach lurched as she recognized her sister. She looked over to William in panic, and saw him shake his head. His eyes motioned her to look back again. She returned her gaze to Dawn, then understood. The girl was wearing a long, blue satin gown and long blond hair, but it wasn't Dawn. It was Chelsea.  
  
*****  
  
"So, now what?" Xander asked.  
  
"Well, since Doc doesn't have Dawn, his plan can't work." Giles paced back and forth, thinking. I don't know what he will do when he realizes."  
  
They all watched him as he moved around the shop. Anya had recovered enough of her strength to offer her own opinion. "Well, we know that he still won't kill them yet."  
  
"That's encouraging." Xander noted dryly.  
  
"Let's put ourselves in his place." She continued. "Willow, when you were running amok, sucking everyone dry, what would you have done if you grabbed the wrong power source?"  
  
Willow frowned. "I would have looked for the right one."  
  
"Thank God we have the Dawnster right here safe and sound." Xander said, then looked around. "Dawn?"  
  
"Maybe she went to the little girl's room." Anya said.  
  
"She couldn't have slipped out, because we would have heard the bell." Xander said.  
  
"What is that stuff sticking out of the bell?" Willow pointed.  
  
"Oh, good lord." Giles strode over to the door and looked up. "Tissues!"  
  
"She wasted my Puffs?" Anya asked.  
  
"Apparently they help make for a. a noiseless escape." Giles sighed.  
  
"One more reason to buy 'em!" Xander joked, then broke off as Willow elbowed him in the side.  
  
"We can't just stand around here!" she exclaimed. "Dawn is off to try to save Buffy, and she'll walk right into the last place she should be."  
  
"Let me try to find her." Anya offered. "I can get there faster. If I don't see her there I'll pop right back and we'll go search other places."  
  
Giles nodded his approval and, once again, Anya vanished.  
  
*****  
  
Doc approached the girl and reached for her with both of his hands. "This will work better without that wig." He said, and pulled at her hair.  
  
"Ouch!" Chelsea yelped.  
  
Doc stepped back in confusion. "This is your hair?"  
  
"Don't touch me, you old creep!" she yelled at him.  
  
He reached out again. "You don't need to scream," he told her calmly. "This really won't hurt a bit." He placed a hand on either side of her head and closed his eyes. After a few seconds his eyes flew open and he turned to the demons standing beside her. "This is not the Key!"  
  
The large M'Fashnik closest to the girl pointed a claw at Harmony and growled.  
  
"Harmony, my dear," Doc called to her in a sing-song voice. "Did you tell this creature that this girl was the Key?"  
  
Harmony rushed over to Doc. "I talked to her. She was dressed like." she pointed. "like that."  
  
"And did you take notice of anyone else that might have been dressed in the same fashion?"  
  
She stammered for a response, not noticing the activity taking place behind her back.  
  
*****  
  
Dawn crept up behind Buffy and tried to work the ropes loose. "Buffy," she whispered, "I can't budge these things."  
  
Buffy shook her head subtly and rolled her eyes to warn Dawn off.  
  
"Forget it. I'm not leaving you." She reached up and managed to loosen the gag.  
  
"Dawn, get out of here." Buffy hissed.  
  
"He's going to kill you. Both of you." Dawn told her.  
  
"And he's going to kill you if he gets his hands on you. He wants to use you to fuel this expedition of his!"  
  
"I know. We finally figured that out." Dawn looked across at Doc. "Did he hurt Chelsea?"  
  
"I don't think so. Dawn, please, leave now!"  
  
"Not until you're both free." Dawn's voice was filled with conviction. She moved over to remove William's gag, then tried to loosen his bindings, to no avail.  
  
"Nibblet, you won't be able to unfasten those. He's worked a spell on them. Now get back to the shop."  
  
"I've got to do something!" Dawn protested. "This is all my fault."  
  
"No it's not," he gritted out between clenched teeth. "We'll find a way out of this, but you've got to get out of here before."  
  
"Hey," Dawn interrupted him. "Look, I'm not here by myself." She pointed. "There's Clem. He'll help."  
  
William looked up to see Clem looking curiously through the crowd. He saw Buffy, then William and Dawn and made his way over to them.  
  
"What'cha doing here, all tied up like that?"  
  
"Remember your friend, Doc?" William asked him. "Seems he has some dark plans for the Slayer and her little sis. What are you doing here?"  
  
"I went to the school. I heard there was a party with food and punch. I love punch. By the time I got there, everyone was leaving, so I decided to follow the crowd and see what was going on. Who knew?"  
  
William pulled at his bonds and grimaced. "How about a hand?"  
  
"Oh sure. You want me to get you loose."  
  
"Can't. He used magic."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"How about a distraction?"  
  
"You want me to use my power?"  
  
"You have a power?" Dawn asked him.  
  
"Sure. I'm a demon." Clem straightened and prepared to launch into action, but turned back to Dawn. "Now don't you be afraid."  
  
"How could I be afraid of you, Clem?"  
  
"Just watch, Nibblet." William told her.  
  
Clem stepped away from them and into the midst of a group of Chaos demons. They were tall and obscured the wrinkly kitten poker fan. Soon, Dawn saw his head emerge about the heads and antlers of the demon's surrounding him. Next his shoulders appeared. Clem raised his hands and Dawn saw that now his claws were each about a foot long and Clem stood about twelve feet tall. He roared at the demons and slashed at them with his razor sharp talons. The demons turned in terror and tried to get away, stumbling all over each other. Four of them lay dead on the ground.  
  
"Wow!" Dawn said. "I didn't know he could do that!"  
  
"Where did you think all that extra skin came from?" William asked her.  
  
"Dawn!" Buffy yelled. Her warning was too late.  
  
"Aaahh!" Dawn screamed as she was grabbed from behind by one of Harmony's minions.  
  
"Hey, look over here," the vampire yelled to the others. "I think I've found the real deal!"  
  
"Let me go, you smelly blood sucker!" Dawn kicked at him and struggled to free her arms. "My sister is SO going to dust you."  
  
He just laughed at her feeble attempts to get free. "She won't be around long enough to try." he told her.  
  
Dawn's eyes widened in horror as Doc approached her, his arms outstretched and an evil grin on his face.  
  
*****  
  
Xander jumped as Anya re-materialized beside him.  
  
"They've got Dawn!" She told them. Buffy and William are tied up and can't get free. He's using magic to keep them there. She turned panicked eyes to Giles. "What are we going to do?"  
  
"Obviously, we're going to need advanced magic if we are to have any chance at stopping him."  
  
Willow raised her hands helplessly. "I can't!"  
  
"I know," Giles told her. "And we don't have time for me to get an infusion of power from the coven at Devon." He turned and paced. "So what are we left with?"  
  
"Unless someone there makes a wish unwittingly, I'm useless." Anya said.  
  
Xander sat heavily with a sigh. "And I'm useless no matter what."  
  
Willow studied him with a frown, then her eyes gleamed as a thought came to her. "Xander, you've done magic before."  
  
Xander shook his head. "No."  
  
"Yes you have!" Willow sat beside him and took hold of his hands. "Don't you remember when we were sitting around looking at magic books, and you set one on fire?"  
  
"It was a fluke, Willow."  
  
"No. Listen to me. I used to struggle just to levitate pencils." As he continued to shake his head, she squeezed his hands and spoke faster to make her point. "Yes, magic is talent, but it is also desire and will power."  
  
"But I don't know anything. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't know what to do."  
  
"I know what to do Xander! I have all this knowledge in my head."  
  
Giles moved to join them.  
  
"What are you suggesting, Willow?"  
  
"That Xander and I do a sort of. a kind of mind-meld, similar to what we did when we defeated Adam." She stood up excitedly. "Giles, you could establish a link between Xander and me so that I could speak to him telepathically. We could send him to free Buffy and the others and give them a fighting chance." She looked back to Xander. "We can do this!"  
  
"I don't know." Giles brushed his hand over his hair and down the back of his neck.  
  
Anya moved to him. "It's worth a try! If anyone has the desire to help Buffy, it's Xander. And Willow's right. Between her knowledge and Xander's will-power, it could work." She patted his arm. "Besides, if you don't do something now, they're all going to be dead very shortly."  
  
"Very well," Giles agreed. "Xander, Willow, come here."  
  
"Do you know the spell?" Willow asked.  
  
"I believe I know a variation that will serve our purpose." Giles squinted in concentration. "It is something that we used to play with back in my. my younger days."  
  
"Then do it," Willow urged him. "Now." 


	26. Chapter 25

Part 25  
  
Buffy tried to work her body free as Dawn screamed. It was useless. Doc was going to drain and kill her sister as she stood and watched. Clem had noticed the disturbance and moved to intervene. He was stopped by two black shrouded demons holding scythes. They chanted in unison with an inhuman tone. Clem froze on the spot. He couldn't move a muscle.  
  
Buffy turned her agonized gaze to William, whose jaw was clenched tightly as he pulled against the ropes with all his strength. Buffy was afraid he would pull his arms off if he continued to tug.  
  
"William?" She whispered.  
  
"Don't give up, Buffy," he told her firmly. "We've made it through tougher trials than this."  
  
They both renewed their fight against the magical bonds. William stopped short as he heard a familiar male voice speaking softly behind him. "Harris?" He asked. There was no answer, but the chanting continued. The ropes holding his arms loosened and fell into a pool on the ground. He looked over and saw that Buffy was free too. She bent over to pull her feet free, then scrabbled around to come up with some small broken boards. They were wooden and sharp, and that was all she needed. William kicked his feet loose, then immediately turned to Dawn. None of the demons present were paying them any heed. All attention was focused on Doc, whose hands were glowing with an eerie green light as he held Dawn's head.  
  
"Now!" Buffy yelled and they sprang into action. Xander's arms were extended before him and demon bodies were flung out of the way. Buffy charged through with William on her heels. She was cut off by a group of Zombies who reached out toward her with dead arms and empty eye sockets. She spun around and kicked one. Its head fell off, but its body continued to march toward her.  
  
William tried to hurry to help, but was overcome by a gang of humans. They were armed with stakes and torches. He smirked at the leader, who stood twirling the piece of sharp wood in his fingers. "Thought you blokes were supposed to keep me alive for the big plan."  
  
"We're not really planning on using these," the man in the bandanna told him. "We understand that you can't do anything to us anyway."  
  
"Is that right?" William nodded to the gang leader, than to each of his lieutenants, just before he kicked the man in his kneecap, effectively shattering it.  
  
As he lay writhing in agony on the ground, William turned to the others. "Next one up for some serious pain? The line forms right here."  
  
They all looked at each other before dropping their weapons and scattering. One of them paused just long enough to throw his torch at William before disappearing down the street. William jumped a second too late and found the leg of his costume on fire. "Blasted straw!" He muttered as he attempted to put out the flames with his hands.  
  
"Exstinguere!" Xander said, and the flames disappeared.  
  
William reached down to pick up some stakes, the hurried to help Buffy. She had already defeated most of the Zombies. He turned his attention to the black clad demons holding Clem. He knocked the scythe free from the first and buried it deeply into its back. Both demons fell to the ground dead. "Come on," William yelled to Clem. "We've got some work to do!"  
  
Buffy had finally managed to reach Doc, whose arms and chest were now glowing green. Dawn was pale and limp. Buffy grasped Doc by the back of his neck and pulled him off of her sister . He flew up into the air and landed fifteen feet from where he had stood just a few seconds before.  
  
William was on him with fangs bared, pummeling him to keep him from regaining his senses. "You're not going to sneak away this time!" he told him, then turned to drive a long stake through his tail, pinning him to the ground.  
  
Buffy turned her attention to the vampire that held Dawn. It was the same one who had captured her. Before he could take a step to escape, Buffy attacked, jamming her stake into his back. Dawn fell limply to the ground as he dissolved into dust.  
  
The other vampires and demons, disoriented from the sudden turn of events, began to disperse. A few of the braver ones attempted to crash through the invisible barrier that Xander had erected, but were instantly repelled. Buffy fought feverishly, killing anything inhuman that dared to approach her prone sister. Buffy knelt beside Dawn as the last remaining creatures fled. "Dawn!" she cried as she lifted the younger girl's lifeless body.  
  
Xander approached her.  
  
"I think she's dead," Buffy cried. "I didn't make it in time."  
  
Xander turned to William. "Bring Doc to me," he stated in a firm voice.  
  
William grabbed the unconscious man by the back of his collar and yanked him off the ground, staked tail and all.  
  
Clem flinched. "Aw, that had to hurt!" He said.  
  
William dragged Doc over to where Dawn lay and flung him on the ground. Xander knelt between the two bodies and placed one hand on each of their heads. He whispered an ancient incantation and the green energy left Doc's body, flowed through Xander, and re-entered Dawn.  
  
"Come on, breathe!" Buffy begged her sister.  
  
Dawn lay still and silent, then gasped suddenly. Her eyes flew open. "Wow!" she said breathlessly. She looked up to see the concerned faces of Buffy, William, Clem and Xander peering down at her. "That was cool!"  
  
"Are you all right?" Buffy asked.  
  
Dawn sat up slowly and nodded. "I think so." She looked around. "Where did everybody go?"  
  
"The ones who aren't dead are hiding. for now." William said.  
  
Buffy nodded. "We'll get 'em."  
  
"Xander?" Dawn looked up at the carpenter. "Your nose is bleeding."  
  
"We need to go" he said.  
  
"Let's get you back to the Magic Box." Buffy helped Dawn to her feet. "We'll explain it all there."  
  
"What about him?" William nudged Doc with his moccasin.  
  
"He's mine," Buffy said grimly. She moved to pick up the abandoned scythe, and in one swift motion, decapitated the Time Wizard. His body shimmered briefly, then dissolved.  
  
"Do you think he's really gone this time?" Dawn asked.  
  
"He's gone," Xander told her. "His energy has disappeared."  
  
"Thank you Xander!" Buffy embraced her best friend. "I don't now how you did this, but thank you."  
  
William tapped her on the shoulder. "Let's go, Love."  
  
Buffy nodded, and with an arm around Dawn, turned to walk to the Magic Box.  
  
*****  
  
"They're coming," Willow whispered. "They're all OK and they're coming back here."  
  
"Thank God!" Anya breathed in relief. She closed the large volume she held and turned to Giles. "You can stop now, honey."  
  
Giles stopped his soft chanting, and the far-away look in Willow's eyes vanished. She smiled joyfully. "It worked! I was able to give Xander all the knowledge and words that he needed, and he was able to save them."  
  
Giles sighed tiredly, "I guess that's two for him, isn't it?"  
  
"Three," Willow said. "Remember, he brought Buffy back the first time."  
  
"That's right," Giles agreed. "Three for Xander. I guess we can't say he hasn't met his quota."  
  
"Xander had a quota?" Anya asked. "Does everybody have a quota?"  
  
*****  
  
The bell above the door rang as Xander, William, Buffy and Dawn walked through. Everybody was exhausted, but happy.  
  
Dawn glanced up at the bell guiltily. "I guess you figured out what I did," she said.  
  
"Dawn," Giles began sternly. "You really ought to."  
  
"I know, I know," she said. "Buffy already gave me the lecture during the walk back." She looked at Giles and arched her brow. "And she is a lot better at it than you are!"  
  
Giles' face relaxed in relief. "That's good to know."  
  
"Is anybody else hungry?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Ohhhh!" Xander moaned.  
  
"Still with the headache?" Dawn asked him.  
  
Xander clutched his head with both hands. "Yes! Willow, is this how you used to feel?"  
  
Willow grimaced on his behalf. "Yes. I really can't say I miss that part. Come and sit down." She pulled out a chair for him. "Anya, do you have any water and headache medicine?"  
  
"Coming right up." She said, then went into her storage room.  
  
"Buffy, I know you're hungry," Dawn said, "but I'm feeling sort of... drained." They all smiled at the imagery. "Could we go home?"  
  
"Sure," Buffy told her. She turned to William. "Will you come? We can pick up some burgers on the way home."  
  
He nodded. "Just as long as you order mine rare."  
  
They waved goodbye and left.  
  
Anya reentered holding a bottle of water and a vial of pills. "Here." She handed them to Xander, then leaned over to peer into his face with concern. "What you did was very brave. You didn't know it would work, and you could easily have been killed."  
  
Willow moved to help Giles tidy the shop and allow the former lovers some privacy.  
  
"I know An." He took a sip of water and tossed a few tablets into his mouth before taking another swig from the bottle. "But I had to do something."  
  
"I never really understood before why it was so important for you to help your friends."  
  
Xander looked at her sadly. "They're really all I have."  
  
"I know," she nodded in understanding. "I'm learning that it's our relationships with others that make us who we are." She sat back, thinking. "That must be why there are so many rules regarding socially acceptable behaviors."  
  
"And I tried to cram them all down your throat."  
  
"Shh." She touched the side of his head. "Just relax and try to feel better."  
  
Xander nodded toward Giles. "So, is it serious with him?"  
  
Anya turned her head to look at the older man. Her expression warmed. "It is for me." She turned back to Xander. "He seems to like me, and he only lectures when he really thinks I don't know something. But..." her face clouded with sadness, "there's still this thing."  
  
"The demon thing?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"It's a pretty big issue." Xander conceded.  
  
"I don't know what I can do."  
  
Xander took her hand. "Anya, if you want something bad enough, you'll figure out a way."  
  
"Thank you, Xander." She kissed him on the forehead, then moved away.  
  
"Hey, Willow," he called. She moved over to him. "What say we blow this popsicle stand? I could use a ride home. I'm not in much condition to drive."  
  
"Sure," she agreed. "I'd kinda like to keep an eye on you anyway, make sure you don't go all power-mad on us."  
  
"Don't worry," he said. "It was fun while it lasted, but carpentry sounds pretty darn good right now."  
  
After they left, Giles slipped his arm around Anya's back. "Are you ready to go?"  
  
"Whenever you are."  
  
Giles stopped to pick up a bag.  
  
"What's that?" She asked.  
  
"It's, um... it's a change of clothes."  
  
She hugged him. "I love you, Rupert Giles."  
  
He blushed, then smiled. 


	27. Chapter 26

Part 26  
  
William opened the front door of Buffy's house, then stood aside to allow her and Dawn to enter. Dawn grinned at him on the way through.  
  
"What?" He asked.  
  
"Your manners are so... so cute!"  
  
"Great. Then they go with my shiny red nose."  
  
"It's more smeary red now."  
  
"Even better!" he said with mock excitement.  
  
"Stop it, you two." Buffy laughed. "Dawn, you've had a huge day. Let's eat dinner, then to bed with you Sleeping Beauty."  
  
"All right. I am starved - even if I'm stuck with the Doublemeat Combo."  
  
*****  
  
An hour later, they'd all had something to eat and Dawn was already asleep. Buffy had checked, just to make sure there wouldn't be any teenaged spying going on this time. William sat in the kitchen finishing up a cup of pig's blood that Buffy had picked up earlier that day.  
  
Buffy plopped down on a stool with a sigh. "I should have known Dawn would find a way to get into the middle of things."  
  
William sat his mug down. "Your little sis has an amazing capacity for getting into scrapes."  
  
"Runs in the family, I guess."  
  
"It was a good fight tonight Buffy. You kept your head."  
  
"So did you. You saved a lot of kids at the school."  
  
He shrugged. "Just doing what I could." He glanced at the clock over the microwave. "Well I can see that Halloween is now officially over."  
  
"Why is it that every year, I end up in a life and death battle, even though it's supposed to be a slow night?" Buffy mused.  
  
"It's just your fate, pet."  
  
She nodded at that. "One more thing I need to learn to accept, along with bad birthday parties and friends skilled at resurrections."  
  
"We all have our crosses to bear."  
  
"Tell me something..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"What did Harmony mean about you asking her to pretend to be me?"  
  
"Ahh." he stood and walked to the back door. "At that I think I'll call it a night."  
  
She moved smoothly to block his exit. "You don't have to go," she said. "It's late, or early, and I know you must be tired after everything."  
  
He stepped sideways. "Yes, I do have to go. You know that."  
  
She put her hands on his shoulders. "No, I don't know that. I want you to stay."  
  
His back stiffened. "No, Buffy."  
  
She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's OK. You're different now. We're both different."  
  
He closed his eyes, then opened them and deliberately removed her arms. "This is wrong. I didn't want this to happen."  
  
"I know that what we had before was wrong," she began, hurt filling her voice. "But..."  
  
"It's still wrong Buffy. Don't fool yourself."  
  
"I'm not fooling myself. I think I'm in love with you. Doesn't that make it right?"  
  
He looked horrified. "No. You can't love me."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because I'm a monster. I drink blood to live." He glanced at the empty mug on the kitchen counter. "You're better than that."  
  
"But, you..."  
  
"I'm only a step away from those vampires you killed tonight. They weren't doing anything that I haven't done. Things I spent over a century doing."  
  
"You have a soul now."  
  
"Yes, and so did Warren and Willow and those crackheads who attacked the school tonight. Having a soul doesn't free me from doing evil things. It just gives me more of a choice."  
  
"I know that," she stated angrily. "I talked to Angel about this. I forgave him, and the things he did to me were even worse than what you did."  
  
"I tried to rape you." His face was strained, his eyes stark.  
  
"And he killed my friends. He tortured Giles. You helped Giles escape. You helped save the world. Without a soul."  
  
"I was still evil Buffy. Remember what you told me? I'm beneath you." He took another step back from her. "I tried to drag you into that darkness with me, and that's the worst thing I could have done. I could do it again."  
  
"No, you wouldn't."  
  
"You don't know that," he leaned in, his face full of self-loathing, his eyes blazing. "I know what the desires of the beast inside me are. I can control them better now, but they're still there. I can't stop being a vampire any more than you can stop being the Slayer." He straightened and moved to the door. "Good night, Buffy."  
  
She stood by the door and watched him stride away, down her sidewalk and out into the darkness. Her bottom lip quivered, but she refused to cry. She turned and marched resolutely up the stairs to her room. She opened her closet and reached inside to wrench the tattered black leather duster out. She sat on the edge of her bed and held it in her lap. She raised it to her face to inhale his scent, faint, but still there. She frowned and smelled it again. The duster smelled of tobacco and his aftershave and dust and his crypt. Just like always. She held it away from her as a grin slowly spread across her face. She would show him. Tomorrow.  
  
She went to sleep with happiness still glowing on her face.  
  
*****  
  
The Magic Box opened as scheduled at 8:00 am the next day. Anya and Giles manned the store while Xander and Willow worked on installing a large punching bag. Xander stood holding the bottom while Willow attempted to loop the chain around a large hook Xander had attached to the ceiling.  
  
"I can't quite reach it," Willow said. "Is there a taller stool here somewhere?"  
  
"Don't think so Will," Xander grunted. "Try again. I don't think I'll be able to heft this up again."  
  
"Too bad Buffy's not here."  
  
"My thoughts exactly." Xander was nearly breathless.  
  
Giles looked into the room. "Is everyone doing all right in here?"  
  
"Fine!" Xander squeaked.  
  
"Giles, can you hook this up? I'm not tall enough."  
  
"Oh, certainly." Giles climbed up on the stool and attached the bag. "There you go. Right as rain."  
  
"Thanks," Xander gasped. He looked around the room. It was done.  
  
"Good work." Giles told him. "You should feel proud."  
  
"I do." They all knew he wasn't referring to just the room.  
  
The bell above the shop door jingled and Giles heard Anya welcome the customer who came in. He glanced out to see if she needed any assistance.  
  
"I need a spell," the girl said.  
  
"OK," Anya told her. "What kind of spell?"  
  
"Do you have anything for retribution?"  
  
"R...retribution?" Anya asked uncertainly.  
  
"Yes. I just found out that my boyfriend has been cheating on me. I hate him."  
  
Anya reached across to pat her on the arm. "Now, now. Hate is a very strong word. Perhaps you could have a mature conversation and work out a mutually beneficial solution."  
  
"Screw that," the girl said. "I want him to suffer. He'll be sorry he treated me like this."  
  
"Oh, no. I'm sure you don't mean that," Anya sounded panicked.  
  
"Yes I do!" The girl was emphatic. "I wish his penis would fall off."  
  
Anya's face crumbled. She reached a shaky hand to her pendant. "Gran..."  
  
"Stop!" Giles yelled.  
  
Anya looked at him desperately, "I have to."  
  
"No!" He shouted. He rushed over to her and ripped the pendant from her throat. He threw it on the floor and slammed his heel down on it, shattering it.  
  
Anya threw herself into his arms. "You did it!" she kissed him. "Oh, Giles. You did it again!"  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"You guys are a bunch of nut cases!" the girl said and stomped out of the shop.  
  
Giles watched her go, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Anya, what did I do?"  
  
"You freed me again!"  
  
"Again?"  
  
"Yes, you did it the first time, only you don't remember because it wasn't the same you, but you did it."  
  
"Will you explain that to me later?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I freed you when I broke your talisman?"  
  
Anya nodded happily.  
  
"Then why didn't you just tell me that's what I had to do."  
  
"Because D'Hoffryn would have killed you."  
  
"This is the D'Hoffryn you invited to your wedding?"  
  
"Yes." Anya rushed to explain. "He wouldn't have killed you himself, but there is a curse attached to the pendant to keep the vengeance demons from quitting whenever the job gets too demanding. Only he can break it willingly. If I told you what to do, you would have combusted... spontaneously."  
  
"That's horrible!"  
  
"But it's OK now. You did it on your own without my asking." She nodded at him with joy blazing from her eyes. "I'm free."  
  
"And what about your curses?"  
  
"Oh, everything is undone. The power is in the pendant, and that's gone now."  
  
"Does that mean...?"  
  
*****  
  
Across town, sixty-seven teenagers suddenly materialized inside the charred remains of the high school gymnasium. Doctors later attributed it to mass sleepwalking brought on by post-traumatic stress disorder.  
  
*****  
  
Xander swayed dizzily. "What?" His face clouded with confusion.  
  
"Xander, are you all right?" Willow asked.  
  
"Uh, yeah," Xander looked confused. "I think I need to sit down."  
  
"Here." Willow helped him onto the stool. "Is it the headache from last night?"  
  
"No," Xander said. "I just... I just remembered..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"These feelings. I have all these feelings inside of me."  
  
"Good ones?"  
  
"Awful things. Hate and resentment. Anger." He looked at her helplessly. "What's wrong with me? I was so happy."  
  
"Giles!" Willow called. "Will you come back here, please?"  
  
"What is it?" Giles had heard the panic in her voice and his face was tinged with concern.  
  
"It... It's Xander." Willow gestured helplessly. "He's confused and..."  
  
Giles nodded, understanding. "Xander. You'll be all right."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Suffice it to say that Anya is no longer a demon, and all of her curses have been nullified."  
  
"What does that have to do with him?" Willow wanted to know.  
  
"Well, you see. I, uh, inadvertently... I..." Giles stammered.  
  
"He cursed Xander." Anya said. "He wished that Xander would get over all his hang-ups."  
  
"I believe the word was obsessions."  
  
"Whatever. He wished it, and I made it happen. Now they're back." She moved to stand in front of Xander. "Are you going to call me a slut now?"  
  
Xander shook his head unhappily. "No."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I just don't want to, Anya." He stood up and moved away from them. "I've been so happy the last few weeks. I've made plans for my future and," he looked at Willow. "I was moving on with my life."  
  
Willow took his hand. "Nothing has really changed Xander. You're still you."  
  
"But these people... My parents, Spike..."  
  
"They are the same people they were yesterday. So am I. So are Giles and Anya."  
  
"I can't forget what they've done."  
  
"You don't have to." Willow took both his hands. "Remember how you told me that you would love me, no matter what? Even if I killed you? Even if I destroyed the world?" Xander nodded. "I spent the last four months learning to accept who I am and to let go of the hate in my life that made me do those things. Xander, you don't have to live with hate and resentment. Tara wouldn't have wanted me to go on like that, and I don't want that for you."  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Well, I do know. You can start fresh Xander. You can still see things through different eyes. Just try."  
  
He drew her into a tight hug. "What would I ever do without you, Will?"  
  
"You never have to find out."  
  
*****  
  
Buffy stood at William's door. She was confident and happy. In her hand was a paper shopping bag with handles. She knocked. There was no response. She knocked louder.  
  
"Just a bleedin' minute!" She heard faintly from the other side of the door. It opened and a very sleepy-eyed, rumpled William squinted at her. "Buffy. What do you want?"  
  
"Why aren't you up? You usually have to be at school by now."  
  
"Since they closed the school on account of the fire, I decided to sleep in. I'm a bit knackered. Had a big night." He looked her over. "You don't look too bad for being almost vaporized."  
  
She pushed past him into the room. "That's because I feel great, and I wanted to tell you why." She lifted the bag slightly. "I brought you something."  
  
He groaned. "Not this again. Go home, Buffy. I'm not going to change my mind."  
  
"Don't you want to see what it is?"  
  
"If it's the missing parts of that asinine costume, you can burn them."  
  
"Oh, it's part of a costume all right. It's yours and I think you should have it back."  
  
A look of understanding crept into his face. "I don't think..."  
  
"You used to wear it everywhere. Don't you miss it?" She reached into the bag and pulled out the coat.  
  
He looked at it with a mixture of fascination and loathing. "I... No. I don't want it."  
  
"You left it at my house."  
  
"I know." He turned away. He didn't want to look at it.  
  
"Why don't you want it?" Her question was sincere.  
  
"It is..." he stopped, "No. It was a... trophy."  
  
Buffy looked down at the coat in her hands. "Did this belong to her? The Slayer you killed in New York?"  
  
He glanced up at her, nodded, then turned away. "I wore that for over twenty years, proud of how I earned it - by spilling the blood of the Chosen One."  
  
She stepped up behind him. "You're not proud of that anymore."  
  
He shook his head silently.  
  
"Come here," she told him. "I want to show you something." She walked over to the window and opened the blinds. The morning sunlight streamed into the room, enveloping Buffy in its brightness. "I noticed something about this coat. It smells like Spike."  
  
"You mean it smells like me?"  
  
"No. Like who you were. You don't smell like this anymore." She sniffed it. "The cologne is the same, and the cigarettes. You still smell like that sometimes. But this coat smells like a dead crypt..." She lifted her head and smiled at him brightly. "And you smell like sunshine."  
  
He looked at her warily. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Did you ever wonder why the Powers gave you the ability to walk around in the daytime?"  
  
"So I could help you."  
  
"I slay at night." She dropped the coat onto the floor and held out her hands to him. "Don't you see? They were telling you something. You don't belong to that world anymore." She tilted her head, begging him to understand. "You belong here, in the light, with me!"  
  
Her words sank in as he looked at her. Her hair was a glowing halo around her head, her arms reaching out toward him. He took a step toward her, then another, then another. Then he rushed to gather her in his arms and bury his face in her sweet smelling neck. He held her tightly. If she hadn't been the Slayer, she would have been crushed. Instead she returned his embrace just as ferociously.  
  
"I won't let you leave me again," she told him.  
  
He kissed her. "I'll never want to." 


	28. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
New Year's Day, 2003  
  
At the sound of the telephone ringing, Buffy burrowed her head under the white sheet and groaned, then peeked out again. "Ugh. What time is it?"  
  
"Nine o'clock," William told her as he reached to answer it.  
  
While he listened to the caller, Buffy stretched and wiggled her toes. Her mind went back over the events of the New Year's Eve party they'd had at Xander's the night before. He and William were still not particularly close, but they managed to tolerate each other. The evening had turned out to be a lot of fun.  
  
"Well, congratulations old man. I'll pass on the word. Yes. Goodbye." William hung up the phone.  
  
"Who was that?" Buffy asked sleepily.  
  
"Giles," William told her. "Apparently he and Anya just eloped in London."  
  
Buffy sat up. "What? Giles. eloped?! That's so. so impulsive."  
  
"People are full of surprises, love." He smirked. "Even middle aged shopkeepers."  
  
"Wow," Buffy said. "Can you imagine Quentin Travers' face when Giles introduces Anya as his wife? He knows she was a demon."  
  
"If you ask me, she's a lot less of a demon than that old wind bag."  
  
Buffy snuggled up to him and laid her head on his shoulder and nodded. "Maybe he is a demon. How long has he been around anyway?"  
  
William's forehead wrinkled in thought. "You know, when Dru and I were tearing through London in 1912, the head of the Watcher's Council did bear a striking resemblance to that old poop."  
  
"Oh, no," Buffy groaned. "Not another demon conspiracy."  
  
"I'll gladly change the subject." William kissed the top of her head. "D'you think Dawn had a good time at her." He frowned. "What did you call that sleep-over thing again?"  
  
"Slumber party. I'm sure she had fun. Those crazy girls probably didn't even go to bed last night."  
  
"Nibblet has a right group of cronies now."  
  
"Yeah." Bemusement played across Buffy's face. "Ever since Chelsea saw us in action at Halloween, Dawn has moved up in the popularity polls. She's getting her own little Scooby gang going."  
  
She felt a growl in William chest. "Just so long as it doesn't include Angel's little offspring!"  
  
Buffy lifted her head. "Connor?" she questioned.  
  
"Yeah. When were in LA visiting your father for Christmas, the scalawag was giving her the eye." William shifted his shoulders and pulled Buffy back down. "I don't want to see her getting' mixed up with that sort."  
  
"I know," Buffy hugged him. "A girl has to keep an eye out for those bad boys."  
  
"Exactly!" he told her.  
  
"You sound like Xander."  
  
"The prat has a point."  
  
"Speaking of that prat. I mean Xander. What did you think of his date?"  
  
He shrugged. "She seemed nice enough."  
  
"I thought so too. Do you think she'll stick around when she finds out how out of the ordinary we all are?"  
  
"You mean you didn't notice?"  
  
"Notice what?"  
  
"Forget I said anything. Xander will figure it out sooner or later."  
  
She punched him in the arm. "I hate it when you do that!"  
  
He moved his hand under the sheet. "But you love it when I do this."  
  
"You're changing the subject."  
  
"You noticed that, did you?"  
  
"Umm hmm. Oh, stop it. I can't think when you do that!"  
  
"That's the whole idea, pet."  
  
"It was good to see Willow happy."  
  
"You're thinking of Red right now?"  
  
"No. I'm thinking of how nobody deserves to be alone if they don't want to be."  
  
William nodded in agreement. "That Oz guy sure wasn't much of a talker."  
  
"No, he's not, but what he says is worth listening to."  
  
"What was he telling you about animal crackers?"  
  
"Something weird about the monkeys wearing pants. I really didn't get it at all."  
  
"Oh, the monkeys." William nodded in understanding. "That's right!"  
  
"Must be a guy thing."  
  
"Not really. It's just that."  
  
"William?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Can we stop talking now?"  
  
He leered evilly. "If you insist."  
  
"I definitely insist."  
  
"Anything for you, Love," he told her, "Anything."  
  
THE END 


End file.
